Disclaimer: All PJO characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Nineteen

Annabeth

After a while, you learn the difference between holding a hand and falling in love. You'll learn that kisses don't always mean something. Promises can be broken just as easily as they were made, and as hard as it is to believe, sometimes goodbyes are forever.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Prom night was even a bigger deal in New York than it was in San Francisco, if that's even possible. It took place on a Friday night, so of course, all the girls skipped school to spend all day getting ready. When Silena asked me if I was meeting them at the spa Friday morning, I informed her that I was going to school that day. I mean, come on. Who needs an entire day to get ready for a dance? Nobody ditched to get ready for the homecoming dance. What makes prom so different?

Silena, though, was shocked, of course. "You do realize that you're only going to have, like, a couple hours to get ready, right?" she reminded me.

"Yes," I had replied, exasperated. "But all I have to do is my hair and make-up. Do you really need an entire day to do that?"

Silena just rolled her eyes and grumbled something incomprehensible. I considered the argument won.

"Annabeth," a voice drawls to the left of me. I feel someone poke my side. I roll my eyes and turn to the boy next to me.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain?" I ask, fighting the smile threatening to overtake my face.

Percy grins. "You zoned out there for a second. Daydreaming about me again?"

I actually laugh out loud. "In your dreams, Seaweed Brain."

Percy's grin widens into a genuine smile that makes my heart flutter. He grabs my hand and squeezes, the fluttering taking on a whole new level now.

Someone clears his throat. Percy and I both look to the left. Luke sits there, tapping his pencil against the table like he always used to do back in California. It got on my nerves back then, but in the same way that Percy's obsession with water did; it was annoying, but endearing. Now, his pencil tapping made my stomach twist with something like anger, hurt, and guilt. Really, anything that Luke does makes me feel like that.

Every time I look at Luke, my vision is clouded with guilt. Guilt that I haven't told Percy. It was never something that needed to be said before Luke showed up, but now that he has, the guilt eats me from the inside out until it eventually takes me over. I have to tell Percy sometime. I know I do. He deserves to know, but every time I open my mouth to do so, something else slips out instead.

I need to tell him, but I can't. I don't even know why. It's not like he's going to be hurt by it or something. If anything, he'll get angry and protective like he sometimes does. But it's like a part of me refuses to open up that much to him. It tells me that if I do, he'll know me completely, inside and out. I'll have given myself over to him completely and doing that means giving him the power to destroy me. I've been there and done that and no matter how much I trust Percy, I don't think I could ever give that power to him.

"Sorry, guys," Luke is saying, "but the PDA is really grossing me out."

Sure it is.

Percy shrugs and lets go of my hand. "Sorry, Luke," he apologizes, being the good guy he always is. "We'll try to tone it down a bit."

Luke sighs dramatically. "What a relief."

Percy laughs and after a second, Luke joins in too. It pains me to see the two of them laughing together, as if they're old friends. I turn my attention to the rest of the class instead. Our English class has shrunk down to about six people. Me, Percy, Luke, and the three juniors in our class: pretty brunette sitting in front reading a book, another girl next to her scrolling away on her phone, and a guy in the very back corner with headphones in his ears, falling asleep with his head against the wall. Since there was only six of us, Mr. Blofis told us that we didn't have enough people for an actual lesson and could use this hour as a free period.

That's pretty much what every class has been like today. Nobody is here. I'm pretty sure that Percy, Luke, and I are the only people out of the senior classes that are at school today. Even all the guys are gone. Seriously? What do they have to do to get ready for prom? How long does it take to gel one's hair back?

"Well, you're surprisingly thoughtful today, Wise Girl," Percy notices, slinging and arm around my shoulders. I smile at Luke's loud groan and the fact that Percy ignores it and keeps his arm around me. "Excited about tonight?"

"Oh, I'm ecstatic," I reply sarcastically. "Can't you tell?"

"I just can't wait to see you in your dress," he says, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Well, you're going to be severely disappointed," I say, just as the bell rings. We start gathering our things. "I'm going in my sweats."

Percy laughs. "Just tell me what color so my tie can match."

Now it's my turn to laugh. I lean into Percy, who happily lets me in, once again slinging his arm around me. My bag bounces between our legs as we walk. When Percy kisses the top of my head, I hear Luke make a gagging noise and say, "Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and head to lunch. See you two there."

Percy waves as Luke walks off, then turns his attention back to me. "Should we tell him that we're checking out right now and going out for lunch?"

I shake my head as we reach my locker. "Nah," I say, dialing my combination. "We also shouldn't tell him that we're not coming back for the rest of the day."

"Mm. We're such jerks."

I laugh and open my locker then turn and connect our lips. "That we are," I say against his mouth before wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Reyna came over to help me get ready after I got back from lunch with Percy. She had skipped school that day with Silena and Rachel, who were apparently at Rachel's house, doing their make-up. Reyna would head over there after helping me with my hair and make-up while I headed over to Thalia's house where Percy would pick me up for dinner.

Reyna looked gorgeous. Her, Silena, and Rachel went to the spa and then the hair salon that day. Her skin looked so healthy, it glowed and her hair was straightened until it resembled a black silk sheet that moved like water. Her make-up hadn't been done yet, but she hardly needed it.

"Your hair looks fantastic," I tell her when she walks into my apartment, carrying a duffel full of what I suspected were beauty supplies.

She thanks me and then says, "Since Silena's not here, I'm going to say it for her: you look like crap."

"Well, gee, don't sugarcoat it or anything."

Reyna smiles supportively and I drag her into my bathroom, where she immediately starts to unload her bag, plugging in the curling iron and spreading out her make-up and tools. I look at my reflection in the mirror as she does so. I guess I do kind of look like crap. I'm in the sweats I told Percy I was wearing to prom and a Yale t-shirt. I had just put my hair in a messy bun after my shower this morning. I'm a little scared to see what it look like after drying like that all day.

"Where's your dress?" Reyna asks, turning into I'm-in-charge-now Reyna that scared practically everyone except me. I gesture through the door and to my closet, where my dress hangs on the door.

Reyna nods in approval. "It's pretty," she says. "The red will look really good on you."

I smile proudly. I had gotten my dress at a local thrift shop for thirty bucks. And it was pretty much the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. It's floor length and strapless, made of a rich, dark, blood-red chiffon. It's sweetheart neckline is studded diamonds.

Reyna mutters something about color palettes and ushers me to sit on the edge of the bathtub with my back to her so she can do my hair. I do as told.

"So, where's your mom?" she asks while she starts to take out the ponytail holders in my hair.

"Oh, she's here somewhere," I answer solemnly. "Probably in her room. As we get closer to the end of the year, she starts stressing out more and more. I guess that's the life of a college-"

"Oh, wow," Reyna interrupts quietly. The ponytail holders are out of my hair which is now tumbling down my back in all it's frizzy goodness. I don't know what possessed me to wear it like that today of all days.

"Sorry," I apologize. "I was in a hurry this morning and didn't have time to blow dry it."

Reyna shakes her head. "Just hope I can fix this, Annabeth," she laughs and squirts something in her hands before rubbing it into my hair. I can already feel the frizziness going down to a healthy level.

"So do you know where Percy's taking you to eat tonight?" Reyna asks.

I sigh. "I have no idea. I think we're supposed to be going as a group to some nice restaurant, but Percy mentioned some surprise today at lunch, so I've got no idea."

Reyna sighs. "If he took you out by himself, that would be, like, so sweet."

I start at the wistfulness in her voice. I knew Reyna didn't have a boyfriend, but I never picked her out as one who would want one. I guess that was kind of stupid of me. What teenage girl doesn't want a boyfriend? But in the months I've know her, Reyna's been so independent and strong. It never crossed my mind that she might be lonely and want someone to love her.

"Who are you going to prom with?" I blurt out, wondering if she'd snagged herself a date. She's pretty enough that I wouldn't be surprised if she did.

I feel her hand lift slightly on my hair and imagine that she's shrugging. A couple seconds later, I feel the curling iron wrap around a piece of my hair. "Silena's going with Beckendorf, so Rachel and I are going in a group with Malcolm and Leo. Not as dates or anything," she says quickly, "just as one big group."

I laugh. "Don't think of those two guys that way, huh?"

Reyna snorts and pulls the curling iron away from my hair. I feel the curl bounce against my back. "Definitely not. They're like brothers to me. Annoying brothers."

"Did you have anyone ask you?" I ask.

Another shrug. "This one guy from the chess club did, but he had glasses that took up half his face and really bad acne. I felt awful saying no, but..." She trails off.

"I understand," I say, smirking. "Poor guy."

Reyna chuckles. "Yeah. And then another guy from our architecture class asked me. He was good-looking, but I had to do a project with him once last year and he got a little friendly. So I said no to him also."

"That sucks. Anyone else?"

This time, Reyna really does laugh out loud. "Leo asked me. I blatantly told him I wasn't the least bit interested in going with him. Guess I was wrong, huh?"

I immediately feel bad for the girl behind me. She seems so fragile and insecure right now, a side of her I've never seen before. I wonder how long she'd been hiding this problem from everyone or if anything happened to make her feel like no one wanted to be with her.

I decide to venture a little further. "Was there anyone that you were wanting to ask you?"

A pause, the tension thick enough to make it hard to breathe. And then finally, "There was one person. But he has a girlfriend and he doesn't seem to be leaving her anytime soon. And besides," she pauses again to take a deep breath, "I've already had a chance with him and I blew it."

I sit perfectly still, lost in my own thoughts. I can relate to Reyna in more ways than I thought. She's insecure and obviously it was caused by something from her past. I've had a bad experience in my past that scarred me also. My heart reaches out to her. Instead of apologizing like a normal person would, I say, "Well, that sucks."

She snorts. "Yeah. It does."

By now, my hair is halfway curled. Reyna works fast and ten minutes later, my hair is completely curled. She studies it for a second before saying, "Okay, I've got an idea for your hair that I want to try. Just, sit still for a few more minutes."

"Alright," I reply and sit up straighter. Reyna turns around and grabs a bunch of bobby pins, setting them down on the edge of the tub next to me.

We sit in an awkward silence for the next few minutes before Reyna breaks it. "So, how was school today? Was everybody gone?"

I laugh. "Oh, you have no idea. It was literally just me, Percy, and Luke. No joke."

"Yikes. Was it awkward?"

"Again, you have no idea." Reyna is another person who sensed the tension between me and Luke and Percy. You don't have to be a therapist to know that there are a buttload of issues involving me and Luke. You just have to pay attention. Percy even noticed (he thinks I didn't know that he noticed, but I did) and let's be honest, he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Thankfully, nobody knows what actually happened except for me and Silena and, obviously, Luke. I'd like to keep it that way also.

"Did you guys do any work in any classes?"

I say no and launch into a detailed explanation of my day and how amazing it was to not have loads of people crowding the halls and snobby, jealous girls to deal with every second who actually thought that they had a chance with Percy. I kid you not, I really have had to deal with them. It was awful.

After another fifteen minutes, Reyna gives me a satisfactory, "Done. It looks fantastic."

I turn around to look in the mirror, but Reyna grips my shoulders and blocks my view of the mirror. "Hold on. Don't look yet. I want to do your make-up first."

I shrug and wait patiently while Reyna whirls around to grab some make-up. She's smart enought to strategically place herself in a position where I can't see myself in the mirror. Just as I'm leaning far enough to catch a glimpse of my reflection, Reyna turns around and I whip back into place. She gives me a knowing glare.

"Cheater," she says and starts rubbing something on my face.

"What's that?" I ask, trying not to move my mouth so much as I talk so she can apply the substance smoothly to my skin.

"Foundation," she replies simply, concentrating on my face. I keep quiet until she's done. Then I start talking again.

"What's foundation do?" I ask.

Reyna giggles. "You really don't wear a lot of make-up, do you?"

I shrug. "I wear mascara and a bit of liquid powder. Occasionally some lip gloss if I'm feeling pretty."

Reyna just shakes her head in response before rubbing something else on my face. I don't question it this time and just let her do her work, hoping it turns out as good as it did the time Silena did it for my first date with Percy.

Just thinking about Percy makes me feel a giddy and light-headed all of a sudden. I know I just saw him today and I've seen him almost everyday before, but something is different about going to prom with him. I didn't go to prom last year. Sure, I could've as a junior, but I never really had any interest in it. Luke wasn't that big on dances either, so we had just gone out to dinner that night instead.

But this time is different. I'm looking forward to this dance, even if I'm not making as a big a deal of it as everyone else is. Maybe it's because I'll remember this night for the rest of my life and that thought makes me feel weird. Or maybe it's because of the boy I'm going with.

"There," Reyna finishes with one last stroke of the mascara wand. She steps back and admires her work. "You look gorgeous."

Then she steps out of the way of the mirror and I get a good look at myself.

I'm not gonna lie. I look stunning.

My hair is twisted back into some sort of elaborate, yet messy updo. Different pins decorated with diamonds make my hair sparkle. I don't know if it's just the lighting, but my hair color looks golden and streaked with sun, like any proud California girl's hair should look. Reyna did my make-up in the style of a fifties actress with just a hint of a modern edge. Dark eyeliner lines my eyes, making the grey of my eyes pop. My lashes look five times longer than usual, like I'm wearing fake lashes (I'm not). My lips are painted red, the exact same shade as my dress, and coated in a layer of gloss. And my skin is the most surprising part. All the fading acne scars and few remaining blackheads are completely and entirely gone. In it's place is gorgeous, smooth, sun-kissed skin that looks like it belongs to a model, not to me.

"Wow," is all I can say.

And that's all Thalia can say when I arrive at her house half an hour later with my dress in tow. Reyna gathered her things and left immediately after she finished with me. We were both late, arriving at our respective destinations at 5:50 instead of 5:30. Thankfully, all I had to do was change into my dress once I got to the Grace household, an activity that wouldn't take ten minutes, much less thirty.

"You look hot," Thalia informs me as she pulls me inside.

"I could say the same about you," I compliment. It's true, though. Thalia is gorgeous. Her short and choppy black hair is looped into a small silver circlet that sits nicely on her head like a tiara. Her normal heavy make-up is the same palette but lighter. Her eyeliner isn't an inch wide anymore and she's wearing a light shade of lip gloss. Sprinkled across her nose and cheeks are a few freckles, which I've never noticed before. Thalia probably keeps them covered with make-up. They look good, though. They make her look younger, sweeter, and more innocent. She's not wearing her dress yet. She's in the same attire as I am: loose sweats that look like her brother's and a t-shirt.

"Come on," she instructs, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up the grand staircase towards her bedroom. "I need your help changing. I don't want to mess anything up while I'm trying to take off my shirt."

Thankfully, over the course of the past few months, Thalia and I have become close, so it's not at all awkward stripping in front of her. I hold the neck of her shirt wider for her as she slips out of it and she does the same for me.

"So," I say, "should I be worried about Jason barging in her while I'm half naked?"

Thalia snorts. "Nah. He went to pick up Piper at her house. They're meeting us at The Melting Pot."

"The Melting Pot?"

A wicked smile begins to take shape on Thalia's lips. "Oh yeah. Percy had a surprise for you."

"He mentioned something like that today. Any idea of what it is?"

"Oh, I know exactly what it is. But I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Thalia rolls her eyes and grumbles at my persistence. "Well, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it, Annie?"

I take a turn rolling my eyes and huff, annoyed. "What time will everyone else be here?"

Thalia glances at the alarm clock on her night stand. "Anytime now. They're supposed to get here at six so we can load the limo and head to eat."

"We have a limo?"

Thalia rolls her eyes yet again. She really enjoys that action, it seems like. "It was only parked in our driveway when you got here. Very hard to miss."

I glare at her. "No need to be sarcastic."

The doorbell rings and our eyes widen. We suddenly remember that we're standing in her room with nothing but our bras on. Thalia grabs her dress off her bed - a knee-length, tight black one-shoulder dress. She wiggles into it with my help, grabs the diamond necklace she has paired with it and has me clasp that, and darts back downstairs to answer the door, all in record timing.

I close her bedroom door, praying it's not Percy who's here and reach for my own dress, draped over her desk chair. Quickly, I slide off my sweats and pull the dress over my head, careful to avoid messing up my hair. The dress gets put on without destroying Reyna's beautiful work. I admire myself in the mirror. The lipstick compliments the color of the dress. The diamonds in my hair match the jewels on my dress. I wonder how Reyna knew to bring those. Overall, I look better than I think I ever have. I hope Percy's impressed.

I glide over to my bag in the middle of the floor, digging around in it for the lipstick and lip gloss that Reyna gave me in case I needed to reapply. Quickly, I do just that until it looks like it did when it was first put on me. Then I dig out the pair of heels my mom gave me. They used to be hers until she grew out of them. They're actually really pretty, all black and strappy. I even painted my toes in case they peeked out from beneath my dress. I slip them on my feet and look at myself in the mirror. The heels are only a couple inches high, so the hem of my dress still brushes the ground.

I scrunch up my nose. The shoes are cute, but no one's going to see them. And I don't think I can wear them all night. I walk back over to my bag and draw out the pair of beat-up Converse that I had thrown in there just in case my feet started to get sore during the dance. Why change at the prom when I could just save time and wear them now? I sit on the edge of Thalia's bed and put them on, then check my appearance again in the mirror. Yup. No one will be able to see them.

The doorbell rings again and I leave Thalia's room to join everyone else in the foyer. I quietly sneak down the staircase, kind of happy that no one noticed me come down. I always hate walking down a big grand staircase in a dress while everyone stares at me. I makes me feel like I'm a queen or something.

Percy's not here yet. Thalia's talking to her date, another senior who's just as goth-looking as she usually is. I think his name is Nico DiAngelo. Frank and Hazel are here, as well as Grover and Juniper, who are the ones who just arrived. Juniper is in a dark green gown that goes over one shoulder. Jewels cover the bodice. Hazel is wearing a purple floor-length dress with a sweatheart neckline like mine. It's very plain and simple, but she look gorgeous in it. Her hair is braided back, but thick and curly enough to where it looks purposefully messy. Juniper wears her hair down and curled, but the shade of red is enough to make it look beautiful.

Grover looks gangly and uncomfortable in his tux, but Frank fills it out nicely. Nico looks...well, it's hard to describe Nico. He's got dark, messy hair like Percy and appears to be in shape. His shoulders look broad in his tux. He's got a good three inches on Thalia, even when she's in heels. When Thalia described him to me, she was describing a lonely little senior boy, so this is not what I was expecting. A small, all-knees-and-elbows guy, yes. A strong, brooding, kinda hot guy? Nope. Not expecting that one.

Thalia told me they were just going as friends. No one had asked her yet and when he asked her a few days ago, she was too desperate to say no. But now that I'm seeing him in person, it's kinda hard to believe her.

"Oh my gosh, Annabeth!" Thalia exclaimed, turning her attention away from Nico and to me at the base of the stairs. "That dress looks incredible on you."

I blush. "Thanks. And I've already told you that you look good. But Hazel! Juniper!" I turn to the other two girls standing next to their dates. "You two are beautiful. And Grover and Frank, you guys clean up nicely."

"Thanks, Annabeth," Frank says, turning bright red. Hazel smiles at him and intertwines their fingers. I flashback to the night before I kissed Percy, when Hazel spilled her guts to me about Sammy, her first love, and meeting Frank. I smile at them.

"Oh, Annabeth," Grover says, getting my attention. "Percy said to tell you that he'll be here in five. He was just running a little late."

I smile and thank him before Thalia pulls me over to introduce me to Nico. "Annabeth, this is Nico DiAngelo," she introduces, "Nico, this is Annabeth Chase,"

"Annabeth," Nico says, shaking my hand. His voice is low and gravelly. "Percy Jackson's girlfriend."

I nod uneasily, wondering if that's how I was known around Goode. Percy Jackson's girlfriend. Probably, considering that he's the most popular person at Goode.

Then the doorbell rings and my stomach flips because I know that it's Percy. Thalia moves towards the door, but I grab her arm and walk to the door instead of her. Thankfully, everyone else in the foyer is talking, so I don't feel like everyone is watching me as I open the front door.

As I assumed, Percy's standing on the porch, looking handsome and very nervous in his rental tux. Like Frank, Percy fills the tux nicely and despite the layers of clothes he has on, I can make out every contour of his body. In his hands, he holds a corsage and a single red rose.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," I greet him in a teasing tone, crossing my arms and leaning on one leg. Percy looks up and notices for the first time that I'm the one who answered the door and not Thalia or Jason or any other member of the Grace household. I watch as he grins his signature lopsided grin and then disappears as his eyes travel the length of my body. His grin is replaced by his lips parting in a drooling stare.

I smile. "Have I rendered you speechless?" I ask, then move forward and tightly wrap myself around him in a hug. After a second, he returns the hug, enveloping me in his warm embrace. He sighs into my hair.

"You look...just, wow," he says and I pull away.

"Reyna did it," I say, flippantly blowing a stray curl out of my face. Then I lower my voice as I say, "Don't worry. I'm still Annabeth."

When I lift the hem of my dress and reveal to him my Converse, Percy grins. "That's my girl." Then he turns serious again. "Oh, and, uh, this is for you." He hands me the rose. I take it and smile, bringing it up to my nose to smell its sweet smell. "And so is this, but I have no idea what it's supposed to do." He hands me the corsage next. I take it hesitantly.

"Now would probably be a bad time to tell you that I have no idea what to do with a corsage either," I tell him, biting my lip to keep from laughing at our cluelessness.

"We really are perfect for each other," Percy says and I laugh, moving out of the way so he can enter the house. He takes my hand - the one that's not holding the rose and mysterious corsage - and drags me behind him into the foyer. Immediately, Thalia's up in his face.

"Finally," she says. "Now we can leave. You know where the house key is. Lock up when you go."

"Wait," I interject, keeping Thalia from taking another step. "We're not going with you?"

Thalia gives me a puzzled look. "Why would you be going with us? Didn't Percy tell you he had other plans?"

Percy squeezes my hand and I look up at him. He smiles his perfect crooked smile. "Did I forget to tell you? We're not going with them. I have other plans for dinner."

I shrug. "I know. I just figured since Thalia invited us over, she was going to take us in the limo or something."

Percy grins. "Please, Annabeth. We're taking my car so we can be alone. I don't want to kiss you in front of all these people."

My heart picks up speed and heat blooms in my cheeks, but I playfully shove him to cover up all these feelings. "Idiot," I mutter. Percy leans down and kisses my cheek.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go before I vomit," Thalia says, faking a gag as she grabs Nico's hand and walks out the front door. The other two couples following quickly in suit, both Hazel and Juniper waving goodbye to me and wishing me luck. I feel like I'm at a wedding where a line of ladies are waiting to wish me a long and happy marriage.

Once everyone leaves, I turn to Percy. "So where are we going?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Percy pokes me in the stomach. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

I roll my eyes and hold up the rose. "I'm gonna go find some water to put this in and then we can go."

Percy saluted mockingly. "Will do, Miss Chase."

Laughing, I leave the room and walk into the kitchen, trying to find a long glass for the rose. I can hear Percy whistling in the foyer and I smile to myself. I'm really excited about tonight. I mean, I was excited before, but now seeing Percy here, knowing I'm going to get to spend the next hours with this good-looking funny guy who's completely and entirely mine, well, my girl side is shining through and I'm getting all fluttery and nervous.

I find a glass tall enough for the rose and quickly fill it with water. Then I take the back stairs up to Thalia's room and place the rose on her desk. I can come back for it after prom, along with all my other things. I grab my phone out of my bag and stuff it into the pocket of the shorts I'm wearing under my dress. Hopefully I don't need it tonight or I'll have to go to the bathroom just to make a phone call. It's not like I can pull up my dress on the middle of the dance floor.

I also stuff some money in there and the key to my apartment in case of emergency. Then I hold my dress up and run back downstairs.

Percy's waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. When he sees me, he straightens up and holds out and arm like an English gentleman out of one of Jane Austen's books. Laughing, I slow down my pace and walk down the stairs like a princess, careful not to trip and fall. When I get to the bottom, Percy takes my arm, then slides his hand to my shoulder and then down and suddenly I'm pressed up against him in the circle of his arms.

"We're the only two in the house," he pointed out.

"Very good," I reply sarcastically, hoping he doesn't feel the pounding of my heart.

His face lowers until his forehead is resting against mine and he says, "We could kiss all we want and no one would know."

"Mm," I say, closing my eyes. "A very keen observation, Mr. Jackson. I'm impressed."

His lips brush mine as he says, "I'm learning from the best." Then he smashes his mouth to mine and I'm unable to even think straight.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I'm not surprised when Percy pulls up to Anna's Diner. We went here for our first date. It seems only fitting to come here for our prom dinner.

"Is there still any lipstick on my lips?" Percy asks me, a twinge of annoyance in his tone. I laugh and use my fingers to rub the remaining bright red substance off.

"That's what you get for kissing me," I tease. "Maybe you should think twice about your actions from now on."

Percy pretends to think before leaning over and planting a feather-light kiss on my cheek. Immediately, a blush takes over my face and I shove him away. He grins and climbs out of the car.

When we enter the room, everyone is looking our way. As we head to our usual table in the back, I feel the stares of everyone behind me. Percy keeps his hand tight around mine. I suppose Anna's isn't used to having guests dressed for prom ready to eat burgers and fries.

We sit on the same side of the booth even though no one is coming to meet us. The entire right side of my body is pressed up against his, resulting in large tingles up and down my body. The menus sit in front of us, untouched. We've been here so many times, we know exactly what we want without even glancing at the menus.

"You're not mad that we didn't go to a fancy restaurant tonight, right?" Percy asks, sliding his fingers through mine.

"Are you kidding?" I squeeze his hand. "This is, like, my favorite place in Manhattan. Better than any Melting Pot."

Percy lets out a relieved sigh and drapes his other arm over my shoulders. It's a little difficult to do so in a suit jacket, though, so it takes Percy a second longer than usual and doesn't look nearly as casual as he would like. I laugh.

Percy shoots me a look. "It's not nice to laugh at other people's struggles in life," he chastises before his expression melts into his normal bright grin. "I'm glad you like this, though. To be honest, I was a little worried you'd get angry at me because I didn't take you to a nice, fancy place."

I feign hurt. "Percy Jackson, I thought you should know better than that by now. I would much rather get a ketchup stain on a dress than a cheese fondue stain."

Percy grins his infuriating lop-sided grin and squeezes my shoulders, which pulls me towards him. My cheek is plastered to his chest when our waitress comes, a short, slender girl with brown hair thrown up in a sloppy ponytail and dark brown eyes. She would be beautiful if it wasn't for her acne covered cheeks and chin which she obviously desperately tried to cover with make-up.

She looks flustered as she approaches our table, probably because of the position we're in. I push away from Percy's chest and smile kindly at her. She smiles back. "Hi," she greets warmly. "My name is Shelby and I'll be your waitress tonight. What would you like to drink?"

Percy doesn't even look at me before telling Shelby, "Two Dr. Peppers, please."

She quickly writes it down on her pad of paper (I swear, waiters and waitresses have some sort of super power to write super fast.) and asks, "And are you two ready to order?"

Clearly, she's a new addition to Anna's because most of the workers here know exactly what we order. We're pretty much regulars here. Percy smiles at her, which makes her shift nervously, and orders two cheesburgers with everything on it and two large fries. Anna's orders of fries are large enough to feed a small country, but Percy and I can eat two in one sitting. It's great that he doesn't get turned off by my huge appetite. Most boys would.

Shelby walks off to turn in our order and get our drinks. Percy and I are silent for a minute, waiting for her to come back. I play with the material of my dress.

"This is so awkward," Percy announces after Shelby delivers our drinks and leaves with the promise of our food coming out soon.

I nod in agreement. "Why are we so nervous? It's not like tonight is our wedding day or anything."

Percy turns to me and raises an eyebrow. "Our wedding day?"

I feel my cheeks flush and before I can stop myself, I start blabbering nervously. "Yeah, I mean, people get nervous before their wedding. And this is just prom, so-"

Percy kisses me, right there in the middle of a full restaurant. I make a surprised noise against his mouth and before I can do anything, he pulls away, grinning. "I'm just focusing on the 'our' in 'our wedding day', Wise Girl. I think you want to marry me."

He sings the last part and I roll my eyes at his immaturity, but decide to give him what he wants. "Well, I am dating you. And people date to see if they're good together for marriage."

Percy grins wider than I've ever seen him grin and leans close so that we're nose-to-nose. "Who needs prom? Let's ditch, go to Vegas, and get married. Right now."

I laugh and push him away. "We're just teenagers, Percy. I'm still seventeen. Give me a few years."

"Back in the nineteenth century, girls married at seventeen. They were married and even had kids by then."

"Yes, yes, such a shame that we were born in this time period."

Percy grins wickedly before grabbing my drink and taking a big swig of it. "Hey!" I yell, blindly grabbing for my cup. Percy snickers and sets it back down. Half of it is gone. "You have your own."

"Yeah, but you see," Percy starts, "everything takes better when your germs are on it."

"Gross." I make a big deal of grabbing a napkin and wiping off the rim of the cup. "You're such a perv."

"That I am," he murmurs before changing the subject to a more cleaner topic. "Have you heard from any other colleges?"

I sigh. The thing is, I haven't heard from any other college that I really wanted to go to since the Harvard incident. That bothered me. I had applied to all of the big colleges: Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and of course, Harvard. I hadn't heard from any except Harvard. Columbia had gotten a hold of me, NYU, and some state universities that were close by.

"Not any that I care about," I tell Percy. His silence asks for more so I continue. "I applied for a ton of colleges, hoping that other offers from colleges would up my chances for better offers from the big ones. It didn't work. The only good college that I've heard from is Harvard and I only got on the waiting list there."

"What other colleges have made you offers?" Percy asks. I feel his hand slip back into mine.

"Um, NYU has. Full ride there. I'm looking into that if I don't get in somewhere better. Columbia has offered me a two-year scholarship, which I'm also looking at. A few state schools have offered me scholarships, like New Jersey and Maine and even California. I'm not sure I want to go back there, though." I add that last part quietly. Taking a deep breath, I ask, "Have you heard from any colleges?"

Percy nods. "Yeah. I've had a few offer me scholarships for swim, but nothing big. NYU actually offered me a scholarship also. It wasn't full ride, though."

I bump him with my body. "We could go there together. Because right now, that's the best offer I've gotten."

He smiles at me. "If I can pay for it."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." I bump him with my body again. I see Shelby leave the kitchen with our food. "We always do."

"We," Percy repeats as our Shelby approaches out table. "I like the sound of that."

I smile. "I do too."

We eat quickly and Percy pays, leaving a big tip. Shelby was sweet. I hope she keeps working here. Thankfully, I didn't get any food stains on my dress. I would've flipped if I had.

On the ride to the school, Percy blasts the radio. One Republic's Counting Stars is on and Percy sings it to me, his voice cracking if the notes get too high. I laugh and eventually join in with him. After the song is over, Percy turns down the radio and tells me, "I hope they play that song at prom."

I scrunch my eyebrows. "Why? So you can sing it again? No offense, but I would rather gouge out my own eyes than sit through that again."

Percy sends me a hurt look before saying, "Oh come on, Wise Girl. You loved it."

I smile. "Mm. Maybe I did."

Percy shoots me his famous smirk before turning his attention back to the road. "Told you."

When we arrive at the school, the parking lot is packed with teenagers. As Percy drives through, trying to find a good parking space, I recognize a lot of people. I'm actually surprised at a lot of the couples. Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner? Never expected them to go to prom together, or anywhere together. From what I've heard and seen, they hate each other's guts. And I also didn't expect Clarisse LaRue and Chris Rodriguez to go together either. Really, I didn't think Clarisse dated anyone. I always thought she'd stick to beating everyone who talked to her to pulp. I see Drew and her friends climbing out of a limo. Her dress is short and tight, but I wouldn't expect anything else from her. It's plain black with a sweetheart neckline. The rest of her chest and shoulders is covered in a sheer material, giving her already dark skin and even darker hue. The dress actually looks really good on her, but Drew is gorgeous. She could make a trashbag work. She's with some kid I've never seen before. He's cute, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He's taller than her, which is a big plus for Drew. Drew's tall for a girl. Her friends also have equally cute dates. They were a group that had a limo also, adding to the Hollywood, red carpet effect.

I look for our friends' limo, but don't find it, so I have to assume that the limo left and is coming back to pick them up. It's fifteen minutes past the set time for the dance to start, so I can't assume that the group is still out eating.

Percy finds a spot in the middle of the lot and parks. After turning the key out of the ignition, he gets out and runs around the truck to help me out of the car. I hop out and the dress falls around my legs, shimmering beneath the lights. Percy keeps his hands on my hips, tugging me forward until I'm up against him.

"So, since there are teachers chaperoning the dance and won't allow PDA at all," Percy says, "can I kiss you now? Just to get it out of my system?"

I laugh. "I don't think kissing me will ever get out of your system." I know it won't get out of mine. I tilt my head up so he has direct access to my lips.

"You got that right," Percy says as he leans down. His lips connect with mine and it's like we can't get enough. I shift up to my toes so I'm more on his level. Percy's hands move from my hips, one wrapping around my waist and the other moving up to cup the back of my neck. I smile against his lips and grip the rough material of his suit jacket in my fists. His lips move perfectly against mine, in such a way that makes me feel like I'm on fire from head to toe. I pull away to catch my breath, but Percy follows, his lips hungry and wanting and envelopes me in the fire of his kiss again. And again. And again.

Finally, he pulls away, leaving me a melting, blubbering, breathless mess. I quirk an eyebrow at his groan.

"What?" he asks. "I just realized that I probably have lipstick on my lips again."

I purse my lips. "Well, I did tell you last time that maybe you should think before you do things like that."

He looks up, like he's thinking about something important. "You know," he says, "I just thought it over. Turns out I'm okay with the consequences of that kiss."

I laugh and give him a peck on the lips. "Good," I murmur. Then he takes my hand in his and we walk through the parking lot towards the school.

Prom takes place in the gym, like any other prom. From posters I've seen in the halls, I think the theme for this year's prom is The Last Waltz. The room is decked out in cheesy decorations: shimmery silk is draped on the walls to make the room seem more mature and to cover up all the Goode High posters hung all over the walls. Little cardboard stars hang from the ceiling, reflecting light from the disco ball. Balloon archways create a path into the gym. A table filled with finger foods and punch is next to the tables on the far side of the room. Royal blue table cloths cover the tables and the center pieces are made of a variety of flowers, all either white or various shades of blue and violet. At the right wall is a balloon backdrop where the infamous prom photos are to be taken and at the left is a pair of doors that lead to the hall and adorn a sign telling everyone that the restrooms are that way. Like we need to be told where the bathrooms are. It's not like we've attended this school all year.

"Wow," Percy says under his breath so only I'm able to hear. "I think this is a personal low for the school. Go us."

I giggle and elbow him in the side. "Be nice, Seaweed Brain. Some people have spent all semester working on this dance."

"Doesn't look like it."

After another good elbow to the side, Percy steers us towards the table on the opposite side of the entrance. Juniper and Grover are seated at one of the tables, Juniper laughing and Grover looking pleased with himself for making her laugh. When he catches sight of us, he waves. "Hey, Perce!" he greets. "Hi, Annabeth. How was dinner?"

"Amazing," I say just to see Percy blush.

Juniper jumps up and tugs me into the seat beside hers before sitting down again. "You really look great," she says over the music. "You're one of the prettiest girls here."

"Thanks," I reply, "but really, all the compliments should go to Reyna. She did my hair and make-up."

"Yeah, but you make it work," Juniper says and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Well, thank you," I say to quietly for her to hear me. "Anyway, how was dinner? Was that place as good as Thalia made it out to be?"

Juniper lights up. "Better! It was food from heaven. The boys seemed to have a hard time with the whole fondue concept, though. They kept grabbing food and dunking it in the cheese and chocolate like it was Oreos and milk." She scrunches up her face in disgust and gestures to her boyfriend beside her, who seems to have rejoined the conversation. "Grover was the worst one. And he kept asking for enchiladas. Who eats enchiladas at a fondue restaurant?"

Grover pokes her side, saying, "Who doesn't?"

Percy, who had taken a seat beside me, drapes an arm across my shoulders. "Sorry, G-Man," he starts, "but I'm with your girlfriend on this one. Enchiladas and fondue? That's kind of a disgusting mix."

"This coming from the guy who dips his fries in mustard," I retort, causing Juniper to laugh.

Percy pulls back, but doesn't drop his arm. "I'm offended, Wise Girl. Really offended. As my girlfriend, you should be on my side."

"Boys," Juniper says to me, rolling her eyes. "Always thinking we shouldn't have opinions of our own."

Percy squeezes my shoulders and kisses my cheek. "Oh, trust me. Annabeth has quite a few opinions."

I shove him away and laugh along with Juniper. A familiar black-haired beauty catches my eye. Silena is at the snack table with Beckendorf. I grasp Percy's arm and tell him I'll be right back before heading over there.

"Silena!" I have to yell over the music now. Thankfully, she hears me and her eyes widen in surprise.

"Annabeth!" she squeals. "You look incredible!" She envelopes me in a hug, being careful not to mess up my hair or spill her cup of punch all over us.

"Not as incredible as you," I say as we pull away. And I mean it. Silena is gorgeous. Her chiffon dress is mint and has a haltered neck. Her hair is curled and pinned all over the back of her head and she's wearing minimal make-up. Silena never needs make-up to look drop-dead gorgeous.

"Oh, thank you!" she exclaims. "Have you seen Rachel and Reyna yet? Both of them look like they could be models."

I don't know how anyone could look better than Silena or equally as beautiful, but then Rachel and Reyna come bouncing up and I'm proved wrong. If they don't look as good as Silena, they look better. Rachel's dress is made of a dark maroon silky material and moves around her like water. Hers has a sweatheart neckline like mine, but she has spaghetti straps on hers where mine is sleeveless. Her crazy red curls are braided back in some sort of french-fishtail braid. Reyna looks even more beautiful than usual. It's unbelievable that she doesn't have a date. Her dress is gorgeous. It's white chiffon and has a sweetheart neckline studded with jewels like mine, but then sheer material decorated with small diamonds goes up to a haltered neck. It's definitely a dress I would give my firstborn to have.

"Wow," is all I can say while the two of them hug me. Rachel gushes over how great I look while Reyna stands there proudly. I can't blame her. After all, she was the one who did all my hair and make-up.

"Where's Percy?" Rachel asks. "Where did he take you for dinner? I bet it was somewhere so romantic! Malcolm and Leo took us to Zio's. It wasn't a terribly casual place, but this is prom! I want to go to some fancy shmancy, I'm-putting-my-life-savings-and-then-some-towards-this kind of place, you know?"

I laugh. "Percy's over there talking to Grover and Juniper. And we didn't go somewhere super fancy and romantic. Well, it actually was pretty romantic, but probably not in the way you're thinking. He took me to Anna's Diner."

Rachel blinks at me while Reyna coos. I told her all about Percy's and my dates there, so of course she'd find this romantic. Rachel, however, not so much.

"Anna's? The Anna's next to Taco Bell? The Anna's that sells wholesome, a hundred percent all-American food? The Anna's that everyone goes to after a football game?"

I grin. "That would be the one."

She wrinkles her nose. "Why would he take you there?"

I shrug. "It's kind of like our place. We had our very first date there, and he takes me there every time I'm sad or upset and I do the same for him. We're practically regulars there and, I don't know, it just made sense to go there for our pre-prom dinner."

Rachel holds a hand to her heart. "That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

I laugh and just then I feel someone's hand slip into mine. I turn around to find Percy standing there with his lop-sided grin on his lips. "Come on, Wise Girl," he says. "I want to dance."

Waving to Reyna and Rachel, Silena having wandered off somewhere with Beckendorf, I allow Percy to drag me to the dance floor, where it seems that the entire senior class has gathered. The song Clarity is playing and Percy starts to awkwardly sway with the crowd. I laugh. "I thought you wanted to dance," I tease.

He quirks an eyebrow. "I am dancing, Wise Girl. Don't you know that the girl is supposed to make the guy look good by her dancing?"

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, whatever." But I start bouncing with the crowd and soon enough, I'm dancing along with everyone else, my arms going up in the air and my head bobbing in rhythm with the music. Percy laughs at my ridiculous dance moves and grabs my hips, pulling me towards him. I crash into his chest not so gracefully. His hands on me has cost me the freedom of movement as lightning crackles through my veins. Percy keeps swaying, however, and holds me tight against him. He leans down and whispers in my ear, "You're really pretty when you dance like that."

I blush but shove his chest in a sad attempt to get away from him. He loosens his grip, though doesn't let go, but now I have more free reign to move. I go back to my dancing, this time throwing my arms up and over Percy's neck. With every jump and twirl, my body brushes up against his and I wonder if I'm doing this right or if I'm just making an idiot of myself. I don't know, but one thing I do know is that the way Percy's watching me is sending shivers down my spine and making me feel like I'm jelly.

We dance for who knows how long. Thalia joins us for a while, dancing just as crazy as everyone else and laughing while she does it. Nico is with her and his dance moves look just like Percy's. Both just sway and depend on me and Thalia to make them look good. And then Thalia and Nico are gone, letting Percy tug me towards him again. His fingers dig into my hips but not in a painful way. It just makes my stomach flip over and over again and my heart palpitate and then my body has a mind of its own and before I know it, my lips are on Percy's and were kissing right in the middle of the dance floor.

The good thing about the massive throng of people dancing is that they shield us from the chaperones who would get onto us for PDA. I take advantage of this and rise on my toes again and snake my fingers in his hair, messing it up more than it already was. Percy tugs my hips closer until I'm plastered to him and he's kissing me like I'm water and he's dying of thirst, like I'm oxygen and he's gasping for breath, like I'm life and he's dying. And I'm kissing back just as hard. My whole body is covered with goosebumps and shivers run up and down my spine. This is the sweetest and most passionate kiss we've ever shared. This is the most intimate moment we've ever had, even though we're surrounded by people. And as I kiss him, I'm certain that I love him.

We break apart breathless, right as the fast, up-beat song that was playing changes to a slower song. The DJ's voice booms over the music, "Alright, now's the time of night for all you lovebirds out there to get on the dance floor and sneak in a kiss or two. It's time for first waltz."

The lights change from party lights to a soft, hazy glow around the room as the slow music begins. I find it funny that they're expecting a bunch of teenagers to waltz, and I'm about to say so to Percy before he grabs one hand and wraps his other arm around my waist.

"I hope you know how to waltz, Seaweed Brain," I say.

He scoffs, like he's actually offended. "Of course I do," he says. "This is the one dance where the guy leads. What kind of gentleman would I be if I couldn't waltz?"

I sigh and lay my head on his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent that has become so comforting the past couple months that we've been dating. "A normal one," I murmur so only he can hear me. "And that would be severely disappointing."

He chuckles before starting to move. It's like I don't have to do anything. Percy guides me across the floor, in between other couples trying desperately not to step on each other's toes. I feel like I'm gliding or we're dancing on water instead of on solid ground. Percy becomes everything as the world melts around us, leaving us in this perfect, blissful moment. Until Percy breaks it.

"So who do you think is going to be prom king and queen?" he asks, his voice surprisingly close to my ear.

I lift my head from his shoulder. "Oh, I hope it's not me. I would hate to dance like this in front of a crowd of jealous high schoolers."

Percy chuckles. "I think you'd look hot in a crown."

"Really?" I say. "I think you'd look adorable in one."

Another light laugh before he leans forward, resting his forehead against mine. "What if we got chosen together? You were the queen and I was the king."

I close my eyes and picture all the clumsy couples around us. "We'd definitely get the dance down."

Percy smiles and kisses my nose before pulling back. I rest my head against his shoulder and we resume our positions again. We dance the next two songs after, but it feels like only seconds. I always thought that prom wouldn't be as much fun as everyone said, that it was overrated and cheesy. I never imagined that I would have this much fun. I never want this night to end.

Percy eventually drags me off the dance floor, to the snack table. I'm delighted to see that there's a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. I grab one and pop it into my mouth, throwing the stem in the little trashcan next to the table. "Mm," I say, swallowing. "I haven't had a chocolate-covered strawberry in forever." I pop another one in my mouth and swallow before saying, "My dad and I used to go to the beach all the time when I was younger and have a small picnic. Chocolate-covered strawberries, I remember, was my favorite part of the whole meal. We made them together and the turkey sandwiches and pasta salad didn't even come close to tasting as great as the strawberries did."

Percy smiles at me as I grab another one. "One day, I'm gonna pull a Troy Bolton and show up on your balcony with pizza and chocolate-covered strawberries."

I laugh, remembering the movies. "We can't talk about college, though."

"Mm. No. We have better ways to spend our time." He winks.

I shove him. "Perv!"

He throws up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean make-out! I just meant we could play board games or watch movies. I think you're the perverted one here, Miss Chase."

I throw him a smirk. "Mmhm. Sure."

He laughs and grabs my hand, pulling me to a table. We sit down side-by-side, slightly turned in towards each other. "What other memories do you have of your dad?" he asks me.

I sigh and look down, playing with the material of my dress. "Not many. He got remarried when I was seven, and soon after that, they had twin boys. After realizing he had a family of five to take care of, he started pouring himself into his work, so I barely saw him. Our relationship was fractured after that. I became a spoiled brat who was jealous because my new stepmom and brothers were taking away all of their attention. I mean, it's better now. When I turned twelve, I realized they weren't bad, but, I mean, you can't fix something that's broken without leaving a few cracks."

"What about before?" Percy asks. I look up at him to find a genuinely interested look on his face. I smile.

"Before? Well, we lived in California. Disneyland almost every weekend, beach trips, picnics, even shopping." I smile at the memories. "There used to be this big Daddy-Daughter Dance at my elementary school on Valentine's Day every year. My dad always took me and even gave me a single rose before we went." I pause. "That didn't change after he got married. That was the one thing that didn't change and I think that's what kept out relationship from completely falling apart."

Percy grabs both my hands and looks me in the eye. "And now? What about now?"

I don't break eye contact as I say, "Now? Everything's perfect."

He smiles and leans in towards me, ready to kiss me no matter who's looking and I will certainly let him. But right then, Jason comes and claps Percy on the shoulder. "Hey, Perce!" he greets in that jock sort of way. Percy tightens his lips and drops his head, shooting me an apologetic look before turning to Jason.

"You," he begins without a smile of any sort, "have possibly the most terrible timing in the world."

Jason scrunches his eyebrows and looks between us before understanding dawns in his eyes. "Oh," he says. "Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anything." He pauses. "By the way, Annabeth, Piper is over by the doors to the restrooms if you want to say hi to her. She's been looking around for you, but you and Percy have been dancing."

Knowing that I'm being excused, I smile and thank Jason. Squeezing Percy's hand, I walk away, but not before hearing Percy growl to Jason, "What exactly is your issue?"

I smile and roll my eyes before finding Piper right where Jason said she was. Her eyes light up when she sees me. "Annabeth!" she exclaims and rushes over to meet me. Hazel, who was talking to her, smiles and comes over also.

"Hi, Annabeth," the younger girl greets brightly. "How's your night been?"

I smile and sigh dreamily just for their benefit. I am in no way a dreamy-sighing kind of girl. "It's been magical," I reply sarcastically. "I feel like Cinderella."

Both girls giggle at my dramatics. Piper says, "Well, you certainly look like Cinderella."

I roll my eyes. "Please. You're, like, in the top three of the most beautiful girls here." And it's true. Piper went with a dress that I would not have pinned down as her type. It's almost an exact replica of mine, actually, but light pink instead of red. She paired it with a stack of silver necklaces, all varying in length. It's something that nobody could pull off except for Piper. On her wrist is a charm bracelet with different charms, all either silver or the same pink of her dress. Her hair had a waterfall-braided crown then falls in perfect waves down her back.

She is kinda making me feel like a pampered-up dog.

Piper grasps my hands. "Where have you been? You and Percy weren't there at The Melting Pot and then I haven't seen you all night!"

I smile and tell both her and Hazel the same thing I told Silena, Reyna, and Rachel. Piper's grin takes up her whole face and she squeezes my hands in excitement. Hazel coos. "That is so sweet," she comments once I'm done.

Piper sighs. "I'm so jealous. Jason was one of the boys who didn't get how to properly eat fondue. It was so embarrassing."

Hazel laughs. "Yeah. At least Frank partially understood it." Then the girls go into a detailed explanation of how bad the boys manners were, and how at least Frank used the tongs to dip his food in, even if it fell and he took five minutes to use the tongs to dig it back up.

I laugh. "That does sound awful. Percy dipped his fries in mustard, though, so it wasn't that romantic."

Piper scrunched up her nose. "Yeah, both Percy and Jason have the strangest eating habits. It's really gross."

"And while we're on the topic of food," Hazel interrupts, "I didn't get much to eat at the restaurant because of the boys. So you two want to take a trip to the snack table with me?"

Piper nods eagerly and links her arm through Hazel's. They both look at me expectantly, but I shake my head. "No thanks. I think I'm gonna go use the restroom real fast and then find Percy again." Piper and Hazel nod and then walk off together to the snack table. I quickly head through the double doors and hurry down the hall to the girls restroom. I enter the first stall and quickly use the toilet before leaving the stall and washing my hands.

I study my reflection in the mirror. I still look as good as I did earlier, right after Reyna did it. She must have used some sort of long-lasting, extra strength lipstick, because my lips are still bright red, despite all of the kissing Percy and I have done tonight. And even though I've been sweating after so much dancing, my make-up is still perfectly intact. I smile at my reflection. I need to get Reyna to do my make-up daily. And my hair while she's at it.

The only thing that's different is my flushed cheeks. I can't tell if that's from all the movement on the dance floor or from so much blushing.

Holding my chin high, I exit the bathroom and turn towards the gym again. But then I freeze. Standing in the hallway, leaning against the hall is Luke Castellan.

I had completely forgotten about him tonight, in the midst of the all the dancing and kissing and bliss. Seeing him here doesn't feel right. He doesn't belong here. He's part of my past life. He doesn't belong in my life, the life I share with Percy and Reyna and Rachel and Silena and Piper and Thalia and all my other friends. His presence feels much more out of place at prom than it does at school in class.

My blood runs cold and my breath hitches when he locks eyes with me.

I gather myself and continue walking, ready to walk right past him like he's not even there. Luke catches me, though, by grabbing my arm.

"Annabeth-"

I rip my arm from his grip and give him my best glare that I reserve for people I really, really loathe. "Don't touch me."

A look of pain flashes across his face and, surprisingly, stays there. Luke never liked looking weak in front of anyone, especially me. So this look of vulnerability catches me off guard.

"We need to talk," he says, his voice light, like we're having a casual coversation which totally contradicts his expression. "I know you've been wondering why I'm here and I-"

I cut him off with a laugh, a sharp, harsh laugh that holds not one drop of humor. "I," I start, pointing to myself, "am wondering why you," I point to him, "are here? No, Luke, you've got it all wrong. I know exactly why you're here."

He visibly gulps and seeing him so uncomfortable gives me great pleasure. I continue, making my voice sharper than ever. "You're here because you realize you made a mistake. You made a mistake in cheating on me with my best friend, and not only that, but you played it off to my friends, our friends, like it was just one big joke, like I was a charity case and Calypso was the one you wanted, even though you had been dating me for years." I pause, taking a deep breath to collect myself. "You think that by giving me some desperate, terribly romantic apology, you can win me back. Or you did think that. That was before you saw that I had a new boyfriend. And that has put a roadblock on your plans. So now, Luke, tell me: now that you've got me all alone in this hallway, what are you going to do?"

I put as much venom as I can in those last words, feeling something pleasurable unfurl deep within me as I see the effect they have on him.

He takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes tight before opening them and looking me right in my eyes. "You're right," he breathes. "You're completely right. I did realize what I did and I did come here to try to get you back. And when I found out that you were dating Percy? Yeah, that did throw me off my game a bit." My heart stops at his choice of wording. Nothing good ever came from those words.

Luke continues without hesitation. "But now that we're alone, I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything that I did. I don't know what came over me when I cheated on you. I felt this insurmountable guilt every time I was with her. I could feel myself falling apart, and I tried to cover that up by talking bad about you to all our friends. And for that, I can't ever be sorry enough."

"You got that right," I mutter. Luke ignores me.

"Calypso...I don't know why I dated Calypso at all, really. She was pretty, and nice and sweet, and trust me, she felt guilty about the whole thing too. We both did and she tried to stop it a couple of times, but every time she did, I would, um, I would stop her."

My throat closes up at those words. I find myself blinking away tears.

"I guess I liked the idea that I could get two girls at the same and even keep one who knew about the whole thing. It was...sneaky, exciting. But after you found out and left, I realized something. I realized that, yeah, while it is impressive to date two girls at a time, it's even more impressive to date one and have the kind of relationship we had before everything went down. To be so in love that the whole world was a backdrop to our story. Annabeth, I want that again. I want to love you again and I want you to forgive me and love me back. I want to go back before the whole Calypso ordeal and start over. Can we?"

Once he's done, I realize two things: I've been backed up against the wall and I'm crying. Both register at the same time and I freeze. I say the first thing that comes to mind: "We weren't in love."

Luke pauses before putting his hands on the wall on either side of my face and leaning forward until his forehead rests against mine. I'm too frozen in shock in move, though on the inside I'm convulsing with disgust for the boy in front of me. "Please, Annabeth," he says in a quiet but strained voice. "Please, forgive me. I miss you. I want you back." He pauses. "I love you."

And right there, I feel my defenses falling and though I'm screaming at myself to keep it together, to remember that he hurt me, to remember the pain I felt, to hold on to that anger, another part of me is remembering what it was like before everything happened and how happy I was. How happy he made me.

Could he still make me that happy? If I forgave him and let us start over, could we go back to the way we were?

Apparently, when someone's defenses fall, their body gets a mind of its own, and suddenly my hands are raising and my fingers snake into his hair. I close my eyes and don't move as Luke's lips meet mine.

Luke gasps against my lips before moving forward. And then suddenly, every part of his body is against mine and his hands are on my hips, rubbing circles on them with his thumbs and something sparks within me, in a part I don't expect, a part deep within my heart where I contained all my pain and hatred for him. I don't know if it's a spark of love or a spark of hate and disgust. I guess it's my choice to decide. And, surprising even myself, I find myself kissing back passionately, not able to stop or control myself as a part of me unlocks that I didn't even know I had.

Kissing Luke is wonderful, magical and something I can't even find a word to describe. I find myself wishing for the whole world to just go away and leave me and Luke alone to kiss for eternity. His fingers move up from my hips, up my back and then back down again. My dress has an open back, so his everywhere his fingers touch, little sparks of electricty are left there too, sparks that turn into a fire of my returning love for him.

Oh, I've missed him. I've missed him so much. I pull away slightly to tell him this and the words, "I love you," slip out too, whether accidentally or purposely, I don't know because his lips are back on mine, moving hard and firm and I feel the need to breathe but I can't pull away, I don't want to pull away because pulling away means ending this wonderfully passionate kiss that I feel in my heart and I'm willing to die if it means dying with his kiss on my lips and he feels the same, I know he does by the way his body presses against mine more and more even though I'm already pressed against the wall, pressed to the point where I can't breathe but oh, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.

His lips leave my lips, but they don't leave my skin. I gasp as he leaves a flutter of kisses from my lips, to my jawline before he meets my lips again. But I turn my head because those kisses on my skin felt so good. He seems to understand because he keeps following the same trail. Another tear falls for some reason, and he kisses that away.

"I love you," I murmur again, not even aware of doing so. I'm in a drunken state right now, smiling and crying at the same time. It's a strange feeling, one that only Luke gives me. "I love you and everything about you and I forgive you, oh, I forgive you because I love you, I love you-" I'm interrupted by his lips again.

Nobody has ever made me feel this way. Nobody. Not even Percy-

Percy.

I freeze, stop doing everything, stop moving against Luke's body, stop responding to his kiss by kissing back harder, stop feeling all of the sensations I had felt moments before. Luke doesn't seem to notice. He just keeps on kissing me.

Percy, who is out in that gym, probably wondering where I am. Percy, my boyfriend, the person I should be kissing right now instead of Luke. Percy, the person who should be making me feel all these things, the person who I should be telling I love.

The person who I do love.

I push Luke off of me rather forcefully. He stumbles back, caught by surprise, and stares at me like I had just dropped from a different dimension. I'm so embarrassed to see that red lipstick is all over his lips. I don't even want to know what my face looks like.

"Wha-why did you push me away?" Luke asks, confused. He steps back to me and says in an almost flirty tone, "I thought you said you loved me."

I shake my head and step to the side, trying to get away from him. He follows. "You thought wrong."

Luke laughs, like he thinks I'm adorable. "That was you who was just kissing me and saying, 'I love you and forgive you, oh I love you so much Luke..'" He says the last part in a high-pitched voice, mimicking me. I hug myself and shake my head again.

"I don't know what came over me," I say slowly, trying to maintain my composure, "but that was not me."

Luke cocks his head. "Why wasn't that you? Because whoever it was kissed me pretty hard." He grins wickedly and I feel like throwing up.

"That wasn't me, Luke," I say again. "I don't love you."

All humor dissolves from his face. He takes another step forward. "But you said you did."

"And so did you!" I exclaim, breaking and finally losing it. "You said you loved me and then you cheated on me!" I take a deep, calming breath and say in an even tone, "There is a boy out in that gym who loves me with all his heart. You want to know how I know? Because he would never hurt me like you did."

Luke suddenly turns into the jerk I know he is. Rolling his eyes, he plasters me up against the wall again and cages me with his arms. "Yeah right," he says. "You want to know how I show girls I love them?"

"Get off of me, Luke," I demand, glaring.

Luke ignores me. "I do exactly that," he growls. "I show them."

Then his lips cover mine again, this kiss holding no love or passion, if that was what it even was in the first place. His kiss is hard and firm and unyielding. I feel those same sparks, that same pull, that same passion, but this time it's all hate for him. Burning hatred that blinds me. And that's what it was before too. What I mistook for love was my body telling me to hate him because of what he did and what he would do again if a better option showed up.

Percy's face flashes in my mind. All of the things he did for me play like a movie in my head. Ditching class that one time to go to Central Park. Our first date. The trip to Montauk where we kissed for the first time. The moment he asked me to prom. The time he held me when I got the letter from Harvard. Moments from tonight at Anna's. The way he listened while I talked about my dad.

Percy loves me. I know that. And I love him, not Luke.

Everything I felt in that first kiss was wrong. I may have felt it, but it wasn't what I thought it was.

I push at Luke as hard as I can, trying to get him off of me, but he's immovable. He's a mountain. I press harder, but eventually Luke pulls away, allowing me air and a moment of freedom, before grabbing my hands and pinning them to my side and kissing me again.

He murmurs, "I love you," against my lips a thousand times over. Each time is like a wave of acid hitting me. I feel pain everywhere. Pain and fire.

I try to use my whole body to push him away, but it doesn't work. Again, it's like moving a mountain. Impossible.

So, of course, right as I'm using my body to push him away and it ends up looking more like I'm plastering myself more to him, the door to the gym opens. Luke's lips are still on mine and though I know he heard the door open, he doesn't stop. He kisses harder than ever and I try to wrench my hands free, to kick at him, to do everything I possibly can to get away. The poor person who walked in on this. I silently pray that they don't try to help me escape. Luke would probably turn around and deck them right there.

I'm totally prepared for gagging, maybe a, "Get a room," or even just ignorance. What I'm not expecting is a betrayed, achingly familiar voice call out, "Annabeth?"

I jerk away from Luke's lips and he lets me. I feel him freeze around me. I turn my attention to the door.

Percy's standing there, face pale, hands clenched into tight fists, expression angry, and eyes betrayed. He doesn't look at me. He glares at Luke like he had the last cup of water on earth and he was prepared to fight him for it.

Everything freezes. Time slows around us. I suddenly can't hear the music from the gym. It's almost like I'm underwater, when everything's gone around you and it's just you.

Except it's not just me here. Percy has just caught Luke kissing me and because of his immovability, my wild attempts to get free probably looked totally different to him.

I am so stupid.

Luke is so shocked that I'm easily able to push him off of me. "Percy," I gasp, trying to fix my dress again. My heart is pounding so hard, it's about to leap out of my chest and I don't know what to do to get Percy to stay. Even now, he's already turning away and, for the love of all things blue, Annabeth, say something.

"Percy!" I call out again and my body begins functioning correctly again. "Percy, wait." I run towards him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to a halt. "It's not what it looks like."

Percy lets out a sharp laugh that pierces me in the chest with its emptiness. "It's not what it looks like, Annabeth?" He looks down at me and somehting flickers through the empty, careless expression he's put on. It's an emotion that I can't put a name too. Maybe self-hatred.

And it hurts worse than Luke cheating on me ever did.

Percy looks back up at Luke, who sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, and then back down to me. "No, I think it's exactly what it looks like." Then he rips away from my grip and leaves the hallway.

I stand there, shaking with barely suppressed anger. Tears stream down my face. I stare at the door, completely aware of Luke cursing behind me and not caring. He can curse all he wants. This is his fault. I don't think I've ever hated anyone more.

"Annabeth," he finally says after a minute. "I didn't mean for this time happen. I'm sor-"

I open my mouth and let out a gasping sob before whirling around and stalking over to him. I dig my finger in his chest as I say in a barely controlled, even tone, "Don't you dare apologize. Don't you dare. This is your fault. All of this is your fault."

A look of pain takes over his features. "I know."

"No!" I exclaim. "You don't know! You have no idea how much pain I am in right now! I am going through the worst pain I've ever felt and I ever will feel because of you. I hope you remember that for the rest of your sad, miserable life. And I hope you always remember," I spit out, my voice shaking because of my sobs, "that I do and always will hate you."

Then I turn around and run through the gym, past all of the high schoolers giving me curious glances, past all of Percy's friends whispering amongst themselves, past Silena and Rachel who call out to me, and past Reyna, who grabs my arm and tries to stop me.

"Annabeth!" she cries out, latching onto my arm. "I saw Percy run out. What happened?"

I wrench my arm out of her grip and say, "Everything. Everything happened."

And then I run out of the building, finally allowing the breath-stealing sobs take me over.

Oh no! Percy! Annabeth! Luke, why are you so evil! Hehe. I feel like such a troll right now for ending it right there. Don't worry, though. Next chapter should be up either later tonight or tomorrow.

Two more chapters and we're done! That's crazy. How many reviews can I get before I finish?

Oh, wow. This chapter is over 14,000 words long. Twice the length of the longest chapter I've ever written.

"For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14:7-8