I never really express how much I love my readers and reviewers, so today is one of those rare days where I give a shout out to those who read my stories, and an even bigger shout out to those who review! I love you guys so much!

Thanks, as always, to the lovely Stolen Silent Stars and the lovely Clara Fonteyn for beta-ing!

Disclaimer: I do not own! So don't sue! :D

The Dinner Party

Percy stared at his hair in the bathroom, remembering Annabeth's orders.

"Percy, please, please, PLEASE try to fix your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"It's all…shaggy and…messy…"

"I still don't see the problem."

She sighed. "Okay, can you try to tame it?"

Percy wrinkled his nose. "I'm not making any promises."

And so, he found himself combing his hair, trying to calm it down.

If I listen to her now, I can tease her later…

It was a mantra in his head that kept him from completely ripping his hair out. He even went as low as to using her hairspray. He thought he could kind of mat it into place, but then it just poofed back out and actually backfired.

Percy growled and ran his hands through his hair. He messed it up even worse, and then flattened it down with his palms. It looked a little better, but you could definitely tell he had had a war with it recently.

He stepped outside and found Annabeth finishing putting a plate on the table. She turned to run down the hall, but then she stopped.

"Really, Percy? That's the best you could do?"

"Don't pester me, woman. My hair is a separate entity; I have no control over it."

"Well at least you're using bigger words."

Percy realized that ninety percent of the time she got the last word, and he died a little inside.

He went into the kitchen and looked at all the food that was still cooking. He was tempted to do something subtle, like mess with the heat so it was overcooked, but he told himself to wait. He could embarrass her later tonight.

He heard heels clicking and he looked over to see Annabeth hurrying to the dining room to fix last minute things.

For the first time since he met her, he was stunned by how beautiful she actually was. He had always been vaguely aware of her physical appearance, but something about her now stood out, like a rainbow in the gray, cloudy sky. He wasn't sure if it was the way her hair was naturally wavy and her face seemed to glow, or if it was the black dress that hugged her body and black high heels that made her legs look amazing.

Either way, it was the first time since being "engaged" to her that he felt his heart skip a couple beats.

A knock on the door was what brought him out of his "ludicrous" thoughts.

I can now officially start teasing her. Percy smiled in anticipation.

Annabeth walked over and opened it to find Thalia and Luke.

"Hey guys," Annabeth grinned, letting them in.

"Hey, Annabeth," Thalia greeted.

"Hi," Luke said.

"It smells good in here," Thalia commented.

Annabeth smiled. "It should be done in a little bit." She then sighed to herself, but put on a small—forced—smile. "So this is Percy." She waved her arms at him, and Percy raised a brow at her rather odd introduction.

He smiled slightly. "Hey." He shook hands with Luke, who was only an inch taller than himself.

Thalia just smiled slightly. "She told us about the whole thing with your dad."

Percy blinked. "Oh."

Awkward silence.

"How about that meal?" Luke asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, what are you making, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Well…" And she led them to the kitchen while Percy stayed behind.

Why had she told them? They were supposed to make it seem like they were happily married. They weren't supposed to tell anyone the truth.

It just gave him all the more reason to pick on her tonight.

There was a knock on the door again, and Percy opened it to find his dad and Mike.

"Dad," Percy sighed. "Mike."

"Hello again, son."

"Hello Percy."

"I didn't know you guys were invited," Percy commented.

"I call that bad communication skills between you and Annabeth," Poseidon said rather cheerily. He then strutted into the house with Mike following him. Percy sighed and followed them into the kitchen.

"So who are we still waiting for?" Thalia asked.

"Beckendorf, Connor, Travis, and Nico." Annabeth blushed at the last name.

"You invited Nico?" Thalia asked.

"Um…yeah…"

"Who's Nico?" Percy asked.

"Annabeth's past crush."

"Shut up!" Annabeth blushed.

"Or should I say current...?" Thalia trailed off, raising a brow.

Percy felt a little jealously rise up, but he squashed it back down. "So we'll have to keep up appearances in front of them, or did you tell them, too?" He directed his question to Annabeth.

"We'll have to keep appearances," Annabeth replied, glaring at both Thalia and Percy.

"Annabeth!" Poseidon gasped. "You invited Nico when you're engaged?"

"Wait a minute," Percy said. "You know Nico?"

"Of course. He's the son of one of my buddies."

Percy blinked.

Annabeth tried to keep her blush down.

Thalia cracked up.

Luke fought a smile.

Mike was lost.

There was another knock at the door, and Annabeth spared herself and opened it to find Travis and Connor Stoll.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Connor yelled, giving her a bear hug.

"Hey, little sis!" Travis called, coming through the door.

"Little sis…?" Percy mumbled confused.

"They're not really siblings," Luke answered. "But Travis and Connor like to think so."

"Which one is which?"

"Travis is a little taller than Connor."

"Hey, guys," Annabeth mumbled.

I really regret inviting them…she thought. She led them to the kitchen. "This is Percy. Percy, this is Connor and Travis Stoll."

Connor and Travis, the devils they are, exchanged a sly glance along with a smirk.

"Sup?" they said at the same time. It was like they could read each other's thoughts, and it was creepy.

Percy noticed the mischievous aura they held and realized that he could be going through some serious trauma tonight.

Maybe I can work this to my advantage…

A few minutes later, Beckendorf came with Nico.

And, well…Percy thought he looked like a punk. Nico was a good head shorter than Percy, and he was lanky with pitch black hair and pale skin. He looked like a vampire, for Christ's sake! How could Annabeth fall for him?

"So you're Percy…" Nico mumbled.

"You've heard of me?" Percy asked.

"Annabeth mentioned you."

"Hmm…"

The "party" was now drinking some champagne in the living room while the pork finished cooking. Percy had to force his arm to stay around Annabeth's shoulders, and he could tell Annabeth wanted to jump into a shower and wash away all the "Percy germs." But they had to keep up a front, as much as they hated it.

"How long did you guys date before getting engaged?"

"—A year—"

"—Three years—"

Annabeth and Percy proclaimed at the same time, causing a few confused looks.

"Er, it just feels like three years…" Annabeth relented.

They could tell Nico wasn't buying it, but he nodded anyways. It was actually a pretty hilarious situation, because the two had only known each other for about a month.

"Hey, Percy," Travis called. "Who's this girl with you?"

Percy hid a smile. He had wanted someone to ask that.

Now to see if Annabeth gets jealous.

"What picture?" Annabeth asked. Travis pointed towards the photo of Percy with a blonde girl.

When Annabeth saw it, she wanted to rip Percy's head off. She knew he did this on purpose. She could just feel it.

Still, that didn't change the fact that it made her mad, and maybe even jealous.

"That's my cousin Silena." Percy grinned.

"She's really pretty," Beckendorf commented. Percy liked Beckendorf. He was like a big brother—one that would beat up the boyfriend of his younger sister.

"Yeah, she's really nice and funny," Percy said, dipping a shrimp in some cocktail sauce and eating it.

He could feel Annabeth, who had her arm around his waist, digging her nails into his side and he winced and squished her to his side.

"I'm going to go check on the food," Annabeth announced and shoved Percy to the side.

"I'll go help her," Thalia said. She gave Luke a quick kiss and then followed Annabeth.

Percy was stuck with the guys now. He was at a disadvantage since they were all Annabeth's friends, but he found it as a way to get some teasing in while she was gone.

"Isn't she just a worker?" Percy commented a bit sarcastically. "She always wants everything to be perfect."

"Well it is Annabeth," Connor smirked, eating some shrimp and a cracker. "She's not satisfied until it's absolutely perfect."

"Trust me, I know. One time at work, she made me redo a paper five times."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was."

Percy had to tighten his abs to keep from laughing (just for the record, he has a six pack). This was just too easy.

"It's done!" Annabeth called. Everyone piled into the dining room and sat down. Thalia and Annabeth brought out three big bowls of salad and placed them on the table.

Percy sat at one end of the table and Annabeth sat at the other. As everyone piled salad onto their plates, Percy asked,

"So where do you guys work?"

"Well, we work for a postal unit downtown with our dad," Travis answered for him and his brother.

"I'm a mechanic," Beckendorf said.

"I work for my dad at a—"

"That's cool." Percy cut Nico off.

"Where do you work?" Nico glared.

"I'm the CEO of my dad's company here," Percy gloated, smirking at Nico.

"So just following in Daddy's footsteps?"

Percy glared. "I make my own footsteps."

"And you're marrying the daughter of a guy you work with…hmm…sounds a little suspicious if you ask me…"

Percy tensed a bit, and Annabeth hesitated in her chewing. Luke and Thalia were the only ones able to recognize the tense silence over Mike, Poseidon, Annabeth, and Percy.

"Uh, how about the next dish?" Mike suggested, Poseidon nodding enthusiastically.

"Right…" Annabeth mumbled. Percy got up and followed her into the kitchen.

"That was close," he muttered.

"No kidding," Annabeth mumbled, pulling the pork out of the oven. "You take the corn and rice and then come back for the potatoes," Annabeth said.

Percy complied and came back for the potatoes, following her into the dining room.

"Careful, everyone," he said. "She has a knife."

Annabeth glared slightly at him, and he just grinned.

She cut everyone a piece of pork and everyone piled rice, corn, and potatoes onto their plates. It was more like a dinner between friends and family than it was a dinner party.

"This looks delicious, dear," Percy said, smirking.

"Why thanks, honey," Annabeth replied back snarkily.

Thalia smiled as she took a sip of champagne, realizing what they were doing.

"It's very good, Annabeth," Nico smiled, causing her to blush. Percy gripped his fork a little too tightly and it got bent slightly. He glanced around and realized that, fortunately, no one had noticed.

"Thanks, Nico."

"Hey, cupcake," Percy gagged at the nickname, but it made her glare at him, meaning she was embarrassed. "Don't you have a seasoning for this?"

Annabeth was about to tell him off, but then she remembered a seasoning she had used a couple days ago.

A spicy seasoning.

She smiled sweetly at him, and Percy did not like it one bit. "Yes, sweetie, I do, actually."

She got up and went to the kitchen, smirking evilly to herself.

"Is it just me, or is anyone else getting sick from the names of endearment?" Travis mumbled.

Luke chuckled just as Annabeth came back out. She slammed it down in front of Percy, and she almost laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"Anything else I can get you, dear?"

He forced a grin on his face. "Nope. Thanks, sweetheart."

He shook some seasoning onto his pork and offered it to anyone. "I'll take some," Nico spoke up.

"What was that Dad? You want some? Here you go," Percy said, ignoring Nico (again).

Nico clenched his teeth together. "Jerk," he muttered underneath his breath.

Percy just smirked and ate a piece of his pork. It was really good—surprisingly so. It practically melted in his mouth. He took another bite.

"Everyone likes it?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course."

"Absolutely!"

"It's very good."

She smiled and ate some of her rice, watching Percy out of the corner of her eye.

It was through his fifth bite that Percy realized something was wrong. He felt his stomach churning and he was starting to feel sick.

"You okay, Percy?" Annabeth asked. He could hear the smirk in her voice despite her innocent look, and he glared at her slightly, wondering what the hell she did. "You're looking kind of pale."

"I'm not feeling too good," he replied. "I'm going to get a glass of water."

After rummaging through her cupboards for a cup, Percy filled it up with ice cold water and gulped it down. He leaned against the counter and winced at how bad his stomach was hurting. He only got stomach aches like this when he ate something spicy…

And then it hit Percy like a ton of bricks.

The seasoning. She must have put something in the seasoning.

Damn, she was good. But he wouldn't relent that easily.

He walked back into the dining room and sat down.

"Better?" Thalia asked.

"Yup. Just needed some water."

"Well good for you," Nico said sarcastically.

Poseidon sighed to himself and Mike shoved some food into his mouth. "Here we go again…" he mumbled.

"Thank you." Percy glared, unfazed.

"Didn't you mention a cheesecake earlier?" Thalia asked Annabeth weakly.

"Cheesecake!" Connor and Travis cheered.

"I don't know if I can eat more…" Beckendorf groaned.

"Find room!" Annabeth called.

Percy shifted uncomfortably, his stomach still hurting. He really just wanted to crawl into a hole and die…

"You sure you're okay, Percy?" Thalia asked, her mother-like concern starting to show.

"Positive."

Annabeth came back with the cheesecake and gave everyone a slice. "I saved the biggest piece for you, Percy." Annabeth smirked.

Percy felt his eye begin to twitch as he smiled slightly. "Thanks, hon."

Then, being a man, Percy took his fork and began his painful journey of devouring the cheesecake.

"Oh my GOD this is good," Thalia groaned.

"It's alright," Percy mumbled.

"You don't like cheesecake?"

"I love cheesecake."

"He just doesn't love my cheesecake," Annabeth said.

"I love your cheesecake, Annabeth." Nico announced.

She blushed a little, but then Percy, through clenched teeth, said, "No one asked you, Nico."

"What is your problem?"

"Right now, you're my problem! Stop flirting with Annabeth!"

"You stop flirting with her!"

"She's my fiancée, you dunce!"

And then, though no one knows who did it—Annabeth and Percy were fairly suspicious of Connor— someone flicked a piece—'piece' being one the size of a walnut—at Nico.

Percy couldn't help it. It was rather funny to see a big white creamy blob sticking to Nico's face. He burst out laughing while everyone was shocked.

"So you think it's funny?" Nico asked. He glared and grabbed his cake and smashed it on Percy's head.

"Guys!" Annabeth shouted.

"That's it!" Percy yelled. He tackled Nico to the ground and began throwing punches at him. Nico shoved him off and punched him in the forehead. Percy kicked him in the gut, and then he felt himself being held back by someone while Nico got held back by Beckendorf.

"Nico!" Annabeth yelled. "Get out!"

"What?" he asked, incredulous. "But he punched me!"

"Just get out!"

Nico shoved Beckendorf off and straightened his jacket. "Whatever. I'm gone. See if I care."

And he left, slamming the door. Annabeth winced slightly. "Sorry about that, guys."

"Don't worry about it," Mike said. "But, uh, I think we're going to go so you guys can…sort this out. It was a good dinner and we'll see you later." He patted her shoulder and Poseidon gave her a smile.

"We're leaving, too," the Stoll brothers said, giving Annabeth a hug. Beckendorf gave Annabeth a hug as well and left with the two brothers.

"We'll clean this up while you guys, uh…talk…" Thalia mumbled, pulling Luke to the table, piling dishes into his arms.

Annabeth glared at Percy, who looked down. He felt guilty now, and he hated feeling guilty, especially when it was because he had made Annabeth upset. Wasn't that what he had been trying to do in the first place?

He watched as she went to the kitchen for a minute and then came back with an ice-pack. She pushed him down into a chair and then held his head as she put it gently on his forehead, where he was already starting to form a bruise.

Percy winced at the cold, but then sighed as the relief washed through him.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Annabeth didn't say anything. She was giving him the cold shoulder.

Percy would be a fool to think she wasn't mad. But why wasn't she yelling at him? It was strange.

Percy mentally sighed. He knew what she was waiting for.

"I'm sorry," he said, his face getting hot.

"For?"

"For…for attacking Nico."

Annabeth smiled. "Apology accepted. Just don't do it again. I won't be as forgiving."

"You mean you won't give me an ice pack?" he asked, smiling up at her.

She smirked. "Nope. I'll let you get a big bruise on your stupid forehead."

"My forehead is not stupid," he said, pouting slightly.

"It is, Seaweed Brain. Trust me."

Percy huffed and crossed his arms. Annabeth just continued to smile as she healed her fiancé.

No one ever found out who flicked the cheesecake, but more importantly, no one ever found out why Annabeth had thrown out Nico if she had a crush on him. No one understood why she hadn't yelled at Percy, why she had only yelled at Nico. The only one who would know that would be Annabeth.

Was it because she knew that if she kicked him out, he wouldn't have anywhere to go?

Or was it deeper than that?

Only Annabeth knew.

Now don't get me wrong. I love Nico. He's one of my favorite characters. He's just not the good guy in this case.

This officially marks the HALF WAY point of the story! NO! :(

Thanks for reading and review please! No flames! :D

-Akatsuki Child