Disclaimer: Riordan. Enjoy…

Thalia's spaghetti and meatballs that she prepared for me is slightly undercooked and burnt at the same time, if that's possible. I grin at her above my water glass because the fact that she would go to all this trouble for me makes me smile. Especially considering she eats so much take-out and restaurant food that it's practically a religion to her.

"I know you hate cooking, so thank you for going to all this trouble to make me dinner." I say, chewing on a meatball.

"I figured that you needed a nice, home-cooked meal with your best friend. I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

"I know, I hate that. You, me, and Katie should start going to happy hour on Friday nights again. What happened to that?"

Thalia shrugs her shoulders. "Katie has been crazy busy planning the wedding, I've been busy with my classes, and you…well you know."

I ignore the sympathetic turn that her voice has taken. "Well, we should start that back up. I'll call Katie and set it up."

"Great! So what's new with you?"

I let out a long groan. "I can't even stand to talk about myself anymore. Please, tell me about how your life has been lately."

Thalia sighs heavily and I can immediately tell that something has been taking a toll on her. I hate myself for not noticing that she's been hurting. I'm supposed to be her best friend.

"Where do I begin? So you know the guy Luke that I've been seeing?"

I nod my head.

"Yeah, well he is becoming the very definition of wishy-washy. One day he likes me, the next he barely talks to me. I just don't know what to do."

"Do you like him?"

A smile graces her face at my question and I instantly know the answer before she says anything.

"Yes."

"What line of work is he in?"

"He's the head of the police department downtown."

"Then maybe he's being wishy-washy because he's extremely busy with work." I say, scooping out more spaghetti from the giant pot that Thalia set on the table. Despite it being under-cooked, I scarf it down out of kindness.

"I get that, but Percy's the CEO of his company and he still makes time to see you."

As if on cue, I blush at the mention of Percy's name. "Yes, but that's only because we work together, Thals, so I think I'm going to see a lot of him."

She gives me a disbelieving look. "Then what would you call the multiple times you guys have hung out outside of work."

"I would call those times…" I rack my brain for an excuse that Thalia will accept without fighting me on it. "…coincidences." And I come up with nothing.

Thalia looks at me incredulously. "I'm not even going to comment on that. You're lucky I'm letting that one go. Anyways, I get that Luke is busy with work, but he needs to understand that for us to work he needs to make time for me, too."

I'm surprised to see Thalia talking to me this blatantly about her boy troubles. She hates talking about the relationships she's in. And considering I'm the same way, it's like we're a matched made in heaven. We're not really the type of girls to sit down and have a long chat about the men in our lives. It's usually when Katie's around that she forces us to talk about those things. It's for these reasons that I come to the conclusion that she must really like Luke. Or maybe we're just growing up.

"I feel like such a girl." Thalia says in disgust. Although one look at her and you think just the opposite. She has black converses on, black pants, some kind of band T-shirt, and black eyeliner adorns her face. I guess you could say she's not the girliest-girl on the planet.

"You should tell him that he needs to make more time for you." I say, getting back to the subject at hand. If Thalia was this interested in a guy, then I want her to be happy and work it out with him.

She grimaces. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I'm done talking about this."

I smile, there's the Thalia I'm more acquainted with.

"Oh! Before I forget, we're having a party here next Friday." Thalia says, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.

"Oh, boy. What for?" I don't know what kind of answer I expect from this question. Thalia once threw a party for the eighty-year old woman in our building when she finally threw out her ugly hat that she wears with feathers sticking out all over the top. Thalia came across it in the dumpster one day and proceeded to call just about everyone she knew and set the theme of the party as 'ugly hat night'. Stupid, yes. But an extremely fun party nonetheless. She's the queen of party throwing.

"Jason's job offer that he got." I'm surprised. That's relatively normal grounds for throwing a party.

"That's great! I'm so proud of him. I'll make sure to keep Friday open." Thalia and I have been best friends since forever so I've become pretty close with Jason.

"Oh please make sure that you do. He says he's going to bring his new girlfriend Piper. He seems to be really into her, too. Which means I need to come up with some really juicy, embarrassing material to show her. And no one will believe the stories I tell unless you're there to back me up."

So that's why she had the mischievous grin. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see how that would turn out.

I'm just about to tell Thalia to take it easy on him when there's a knock at the door. I get up from my seat and walk over to answer it. I unlock the door and open it quickly, utterly confused but very turned on at what greets me.

Percy in a suit. Head to toe decked out in an extremely handsome, but obviously expensive suit. He's heartbreakingly handsome and his hairs combed back slightly from his forehead, offering me an amazing view of his sea-green eyes. My mouth opens slightly of its own accord and I quickly shut it in the hopes he didn't notice.

"I have an emergency." He says, looking slightly panicked. He pushes his way through my door, walking past me carrying a large box in his hands and enters my living room.

Thalia takes notice of him then. "Hey Perce, I guess this would be another one of those coincidences that Annie keeps referring to, huh?" She says, giving me a disbelieving look.

"I have no idea what that means and I don't have time to answer any questions." Percy says in a rush. He puts the box down on the end of the couch and turns towards to me.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" I ask.

"I need your help. I have this benefit that I have to go to tonight and I need you to come with me."

"You need me to go with you? Why?"

"Because I told these people a while ago that I'd be bringing a plus one and I completely forgot about this thing until about fifteen minutes ago. And if I don't bring anyone with me the publicity will have a field day. Who knows what kind of shit they'll come up with."

"You got all dressed up like that and drove over here in the span of fifteen minutes?"

"Yeah, its become a habit of mine to be forgetful so I'm used to having to do this."

I look at him skeptically, wondering how in the hell he thinks I'm actually going to go this thing with him.

Percy sits down at the seat I vacated and starts to eat some of the leftover spaghetti that I didn't finish eating on my plate.

"The serving sizes that they give at these kinds of things is pathetic."

I snap my fingers in front of his face to get him to pay attention to me instead of the food in front of him. "Percy! I can't just drop everything and come to this benefit with you! I don't have a dress and I'm supposed to be having dinner with Thalia."

Percy rolls his eyes for some reason unbeknownst to me. "You have to come with me, Annabeth. You're my assistant and I need you. So come assist me." He gives me a look that lets me know I'm not going to win this argument.

I raise my head defiantly. "I'm not going. I don't have a dress anyways."

"You are too going. Open the box on the couch, and take a wild guess what will be in there."

I do as he says and open the box. Inside is what I already assumed would be in it. A dress. A beautiful, red gown by the looks of it. With matching silver shoes and a eye-catching diamond statement necklace. I don't even want to consider the amount of money this whole ensemble cost him. I shut the lid quickly.

"No. Nope. Not going."

"Yes, you are."

"Well…" Thalia interjects our argument, "…as entertaining as this has been, I think I'll go give Luke a call and see what he's up to tonight."

I glare at the back of her head as she gets up from the table and walks into her room. She was my only way of getting out of this. Thanks for the loyalty, Thals.

"Annabeth, I need you to do this for me. Please. I'll even pay you overtime for it."

I think of everything that Percy's done for me in the last few weeks. Really this would be just a drop in the bucket on how to pay him back for all of his help.

I sigh. I really hate getting all dressed up. "Alright, I'll go. But don't pay me. That'll only help in making me feel like a slutty entourage."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're saving my ass right now."

I spend the next thirty minutes rushing around like there's no tomorrow taking a shower, getting dressed, and then doing my hair and makeup. I look myself over once more in the bathroom mirror and deem myself fit.

"Okay, let's go. This is as good as it's going to get when you only give me a half an hour to get ready." I step out of the bathroom and walk into the living room where Percy is sitting on the couch.

I blush at his reaction to my appearance. I didn't think I looked that great but his mouth on the floor begs to differ. I busy myself by putting things into my clutch that I found in my closet.

"Remind me to call Silena later and give her a raise. Wow, you clean up nice."

I teasingly try to look offended. "Mr. Jackson, are you insinuating that I don't look good in my normal clothing?"

Percy starts to panic. It's the cutest thing. "No! No I'm not saying that at all."

I laugh. "Relax, Percy. Let's just get this thing over with."

He grabs the matching shawl for my dress and drapes it over my shoulders, his fingers trailing down my arms. I shiver at the light touch. He grabs my hand and leads me out of the apartment.

Once we're in the car, Percy gives me a rundown of the event we're about to attend. It's a charity that supports teens that come from low-income families. The money that people donate helps pay for their education and supplies.

"We'll only stay for two hours at the least. The quicker we get out of there, the better. Believe me when I say that I hate these benefit dinners." Percy says, making a right turn onto a road I'm unfamiliar with.

"I mean I love supporting them. It really is a great cause. But eating dinner with a bunch of big-shot douche bags, laughing at bad jokes, and rubbing shoulders with woman who want to sleep with me behind their husband's back all for publicity is not my favorite thing to do." He says, pulling into a swanky hotel parking lot. "Ready?"

I take a deep breath and nod. At this point I'm intimidated by Percy's lifestyle. Two hours ago I was about to spend the rest of the evening drinking wine and chatting with Thalia and now I'm in front of a huge hotel called the Delmont, about to schmooze with people who made more money in the past week than I will my entire life.

While I was contemplating all of this, Percy got out of the car to open my door. I grab the hand that he offers to me, sliding gently out of the seat. I step onto the pavement and cringe as my full weight is put on the balance of my high heels. I remember now why I hate high heels so much. I'd take flip-flops over them any day.

I lift my shoulders up and put on a fake smile as I walk in through the huge double-set doors. I put my arm through Percy's and let him lead me into the building. Show time.

The entire benefit has been everything Percy said it would be. Ridiculously fake people congratulating each other on their 'good deeds' of paying for children's education. Percy might just be the only person here who donated with hopes of helping others, not just for good publicity.

It's been about an hour and a half since Percy and I got here. Despite these people being horrible, Percy and I are making the best of the open bar and the dance floor. I'm suddenly glad that I let him convince me to come with him.

"Percy!" I hear someone call his name form my seat at our table. I turn just as Percy does to find a vivacious red-head walking towards him.

"I thought I'd see you here." She says, stopping right in front of him. She barely gives me a glance. Her attention is trained entirely on Percy.

I see Percy grimace out of the corner of my eye, and give me a look that I can't decipher. I immediately know that this can't be good.

"Hello, Rachel. Did you come here with your father?" Percy asks, standing to give her a hug that I can tell he doesn't really want to give.

"Yes, well considering we were supposed to come here together until you told me you found someone else, I had to find other ways of getting an invite." She finally has the decency to look me in the eye. She smiles at me, but I know it's just for show.

"Would you like to dance with me, Percy?" She asks, letting her hand trail down his arm.

Percy looks at her like she has two heads and I fight hard to restrain the joy that he's not attracted to her. He gently pulls her hand away from him and sets it by her side.

"Listen, Rachel…" He begins, getting up and whispering to her so others won't overhear. "…what we had is over. I'm here with Annabeth. I'm sure there's another guy here that will dance with you if you want to so badly."

I try my hardest to pretend that I'm more interested in my small portion of grilled chicken and vegetables than the conversation that is happening two feet from me. My curiosity gets the better of me though, and I turn my head slightly to look at Rachel's reaction.

I'm surprised to see that she's looking at me with astonishment instead of fighting or yelling at Percy.

She walks away from him and stands in front of me, her hands on her hips. "Wow. I never thought I'd see the day that Percy Jackson was tamed. Congratulations." And with those final words she makes her leave, not sparing Percy or I another glance.

"She's an interesting character." I say, breaking the silence that settled over us. I decide then and there not to dwell on what she's just said. I don't need a jealous ex-girlfriend of Percy's to ruin the nice evening we're having. Especially considering he showed no interest in her whatsoever.

Percy lets out a sigh. "She's in the past. Sadly though, she comes to a lot of these events because her dads loaded and he usually brings her along. My father and hers set us up a long time ago. I was never really into it because anything my dad has his hand in helping makes me want to puke. I told her that we could stay friends, but seriously when in the hell has that ever calmed a girl down and made her not hate you or get over you?"

I laugh. "You've got me there."

Not seeing Rachel the rest of the night put me in higher spirits again. Percy and I danced some more, drank a lot more alcohol, and then they brought the dessert out and we were all over that.

We leave around eleven. As me and Percy stand waiting for the valet to bring Percy's car around, we strike up conversation with a really sweet old couple walking by on the side of the street.

They've been together for fifty-three years and you can tell they still really love each other. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Arlene and Arty are their names. Arlene begins to tell me the story of how they met. She says they met in her campus dorms. He walked in on her when she was only in her towel, getting out of the co-ed showers. It's almost so similar to how Percy and I met that it makes me want to laugh hysterically.

Just as I start to wonder where the hell this valet guy is with Percy's car, it dawns on me that we never actually asked anyone to get it. Oops. Me and Percy might be just a little bit tipsy at the moment.

So after telling the valet people that we needed our car, and waiting another five minutes with the nice old couple, we finally take our leave.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight. You made it surprisingly bearable." Percy says, while we're driving home in his car.

"You're welcome. I had fun, so thanks for inviting me." I smile at the memory of Percy eating any appetizer a server would approach us with.

"That old couple was really adorable."

"I know. And the story of when they met gave me extreme déjà vu of the first time we met." I say, laughing and giving him a conspiratorial look.

He looks confused for a moment and then smirks like he knows something I don't. "You coming out of your bathroom in only a towel was not the first time we met. Although, it is a fond memory."

"That wasn't the first time we met?" I rack my brain for another time that I met him. I come up with nothing. Meeting Percy surely would have been a memorable experience so I'm confused as to why I don't remember.

He laughs and I know I'm going to be mortified to the reason behind his mirth. "It was the night that Thalia threw that huge house-warming party. I showed up late, had a few drinks and then wanted to get some air. I found you on the balcony. You were drunk off your ass, and I was well on my way to getting there. The first thing you said to me was 'you're eyes are the same color as the place the dolphins like to swim.'"

I let out a groan and cover my face with my hands, leaning my head onto the window for support.

"And then you made a face like you were about to vomit, so I made sure you did it over the balcony and held your hair back."

Mortification at its finest. "That's so embarrassing. I knew I'd regret drinking so much that night."

"Oh, it doesn't end there. You asked me if I wanted to take a bubble bath with you." He laughs at that. "I figured you were pretty trashed, especially after Thalia told me that you've never consumed so much alcohol before. So I got you cleaned up then I picked you up and tucked you into bed."

I look at him in astonishment. "And you were able to become attracted to me after something so humiliating?"

He shrugs his shoulders and smiles. "Call me crazy, but I thought it was kind of cute." He says, locking eyes with me. Sea-green to gray.

All at once, everything Percy's done for me comes rushing back at the same time. I'm overwhelmed by the things I feel for this man in front of me. He's had his asshole moments but when it comes down to it, he's helped me a lot. Giving me a job when I needed one more than anything and being a shoulder to cry on when I've needed someone to be there for me. And on top of all my emotional break-downs in front of him, he still genuinely likes me. I think this is the first time that fact is actually settling into my brain.

Blame it on the alcohol. Or don't. "Take me back to your place."

A/N: I love you all for sticking with this story. I hate that it took me this long to update, but my life took a crazy turn once again. Thank you for your continued dedication and reviews. And thank you for loving this story as much as I love to write it. I hope you like this chapter as much as I do. Please continue to review and give me suggestions on what you want to happen next!