Hello my lovelies. It's me, ya main gurl. I've just been having a hard time getting into the right headspace to write more. I've been pretty occupied this summer so far and I just couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with the story. I'm sorry for the long waits and no I haven't forgotten about you or the story. Okay enough talk. More Percabeth. ;-D

Percy POV

The sweat from Percy's head was mixing with the leftover pool water in his hair as he pummeled the punching bag. He was at the school gym as he usually was after swim practice. There was far too much time in the day that he was supposed to be home. Conveniently, the school kept the gym and pool open pretty late, so he stayed behind almost everynight. Once eight o'clock rolled around, the last person usually left.

Which is why he was so startled by Annabeth's voice at 10:30.

"Hey," she said just loud enough for him to hear her over the sound of his gloves hitting the leather bag.

"OH MY GOD!" he yelled as he jumped away from her, chopping the air in front of him.

"Calm down, Karate Kid!" She leaned against the wall as she laughed at him. Her arms and ankles crossed, and he couldn't help but notice her long tan legs as she leaned against the wall.

"Shut it, Wise Girl," Percy smirked as he rested a hand on the punching bag. "I don't exactly expect people to be here this late."

She made an exaggerated confused face and replied, "Wait but... aren't you here?" Her face broke into a smile as she pushed off the wall towards him.

"I don't count," he retorted, watching as she stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Oh? And why wouldn't you count, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.

"I practically live here." He watched as her seemingly permanent smirk turned slightly serious.

"Right. How else would you prepare for your gang fights, right?" she asked, glancing away from him before meeting his gaze with intense scrutinty.

He cocked an eyebrow before replying, "What gang?"

She shrugged slightly as she said, "I figured you had to get those bruises from somewhere, right?"

Percy darted his eyes around the room, trying to get inspiration for justification. He hadn't even realized he had just taken away his most liable excuse. He really just wanted to tell her the truth, but he knew that he couldn't. What if she tried to confront Gabe herself? She was so fiesty and determined, he could just picture her storming up his front steps and banging on his door. He didn't think Gabe was above hitting a random teenage girl.

Before he could even open his mouth, Annabeth's expression changed to desperation as she continued, "Percy, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

If only it was that easy, he thought. He knew he could trust her, he was just worried she would take matters into her own hands. That couldn't happen. But it broke his heart that she was looking at him like that. Like the next thing he says might break her or fix her. And he just knew he couldn't fix her.

"I box a bit," he said, watching as her urgent eyes became a little colder. As if she knew he was lying right to her face. He felt a desperate urge within himself to make her believe him. "In a gym. Not on the streets with a gang." He gave her a lopsided smirk, hoping it would ease the tension a bit.

Instead of questioning him further like he thought she might do, her lips turned into a thin line and she turned around. Percy thought she was going to leave, but instead she went to his gym bag that lay against the wall. He mentally racked his brain of the things he had in there that might embarass him. Should he stop her? Would that look weird? It totally smells bad in there. He cringed as she rummaged through it before laughing in triumph.

She pulled out his phone and shook it at him. "This is why I'm here."

He cocked his eyebrow again as he tried to cross his arms before realizing his boxing gloves were still on. He blushed and stripped them off.

She smiled lightly at him before continuing, "I've been trying to reach you for hours."

Hours? Oh snap. What happened? Did she get mugged? Almost kidnapped? Oh he would kill whoever even thought about laying a hand on her.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" he asked, his expression becoming serious. He searched her body for marks of an assault and upon finding nothing, he scoured her eyes for answers.

He watched her steely eyes meet his stare for a moment before blushing under the intensity of his gaze and looking away.

"No, I'm fine. Nothing happened. I just-" he noticed she started twiddling her fingers together as her blush deepened. "I was wondering if you would want to go to Coral Cove with our friends and me tomorrow?"

Our friends? Did they call him their friend? He knew that sat together at lunch now, but were they really all considered friends? The thought put a smile to his face that almost rivaled the one already there from the fact Annabeth just practically asked him on a date.

She bit her lip and glanced up at him, waiting for his answer. How could she make his heart melt with such a simple movement?

"That sounds like a lot of fun, yeah." He gave her a lopsided smile and watched her composition become much more relaxed. Did she actually think he would say no? He didn't think he could ever tell her no.

"How did you even know how to find me?" he asked.

"Frank said you usually stay in here pretty late, so I just went out on a whim. Not much for partying on a Friday night, huh?"

He knew he should probably make up some bullshit about his bad boy party lifestyle, but he didn't have it in him to lie to her even more.

"You know, Wise Girl, partying can really suck."

She raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh really? Says Mr. Party-hardy."

He gave her a small chuckle and found that he couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm sure you've guessed but that part of my lifestyle isn't very true."

He glanced back up to meet her eyes and saw that they were shining and she had the biggest smile on her face. This just added to the reasons he wished he could always be honest with her, it made her so happy.

He watched as she tried to hide the joy presented on her face to no avail. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her.

"So does that mean the dick that I knew the first two months of school is fake too?" She smiled at him and slowly edged closer to him.

He gave her a sheepish grin before replying, "Maybe..."

"And what was up with those sunglasses?" She continued her dreadully slow advance. Her cloudy eyes shined with mischief.

He debated his answer before deciding he couldn't just make up some dumb story. "You can fake a smile, or a laugh, but your eyes will always tell the truth. And you can't hide that," he said with sincerity.

He saw her eyes soften for a moment before a smirk formed on her lips.

"And you had to hide the fact that you're just a big ole cinnamon roll, right?"

He laughed before letting his face set to a smile. "Something like that."

"Yeah, I like this new guy much better." With that, she lunged forward and her small hands shot to his sides, tickling him to no end.

"Ahh!" he yelled as he jumped away from her. He quickly put the punching bag in between them while he got his bearings. She has no idea the mistake she just made.

He shot out and grabbed her wrists, holding her arms still.

"Oh, Annabeth," he began, letting a mischievious smirk of his own fill his face. "You don't even know what you just started."

He released her arms and his hands attacked her stomach and sides, and the workout room filled with her laughter. Such a beautiful sound. She tried to defend herself, but she could hardly control her muscles. He couldn't help but laugh at her laughter.

Eventually, Percy found himself pinning her to the ground while he tickled her relentlessly. She was getting to the point where her full laughter was becoming snorts, which of course made him laugh even harder. He felt the warm skin of her stomach as her shirt began to ride up, but he still didn't stop.

He only stopped when he realized she probably couldn't breathe as she was laughing so hard.

Even after he stopped, she continued to giggle. He smiled at her happy face, feeling lucky to be here with her.

"I can see the regret in your eyes, Wise Girl. And I forgive you," he smiled cheekily as he looked down on her. It was then that he truly realized their position. He was on his knees straddling her hips while he leaned on his arms near her waist. He gulped audibly as he saw her shirt was rolled up to her bellybutton and her face was totally flushed.

He watched her gray eyes recognize their arrangement as her eyes roamed from his face to his body, over to her waist and his hands, only to end up meeting his eyes again. He felt a connection in her gaze that pulled him closer to her. It was like she caught him and was reeling him in. Though, she caught him a long, long time ago.

His eyes flickered to her lips before returning to her stormy orbs. He desperately wanted to kiss those full lips. She would have zero doubts about him then, right? He wouldn't need to tell her about his past, as she would already know his feelings.

He knew she would say something when he saw her eyes change. One second they were full of desire and the next, hesitance.

"Percy. There's cameras in here," she said, gently putting her hands on his chest.

He tried not to let his disappointment show too much. He knew she was right, they couldn't makeout in the highschool weight room, but he damn well wanted to. He was supposed to be a rebel after all. But he would never want to do something she was uncomfortable with.

He lingered hovering over her before leaning back on his knees.

"You're right," he said as he pushed himself to his feet. He offered her his hand up, which she gladly took.

He put the boxing gloves away before reaching down to grab his bag. She stood by the door, waiting for him.

"Can I give you a ride home?" she asked, watching his movements. He knew it wasn't really a question, but that didn't stop him from trying to reject the offer.

"I can walk," he said, hoping she wouldn't think he was avoiding being alone with her.

"Percy, it's dark. Let me give you a ride."

He thought about it for a moment before agreeing. Gabe should be passed out on the couch by now, and he knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.

The car ride was quiet, but not awkward. Percy looked at the stars as Annabeth fiddled with the radio, quietly humming along to any song she heard. He swore she knew every song.

He knew it was useless to ask her to drop him off at the corner, so he let her drive him all the way to her house. He was pleasantly surprised she remembered the way. He was going to tease her about it, but he decided he didn't want to ruin the relaxed mood.

She turned the radio down as she parked in the street.

"So we'll pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow. And don't forget your bathing suit." she reported, turning to face him.

"Yeah that sounds good." He smiled softly at her and grabbed his bag. "Thanks for the ride, Wise Girl."

He opened the door, not wanting her to stay too long in front of the house in case Gabe turned out to be awake.

"Percy," she called, grabbing his arm as he was halfway out of the car.

He turned to look at her as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Seaweed Brain." She smiled and a blush crept onto her cheeks as she leaned back into her seat. He felt his own face heat up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sweet dreams Wise Girl."

He quickly walked up the steps to his front porch before slipping inside the front door. He saw Gabe snoring in his chair with the TV on and several empty bottles around him. He quickly and quietly went upstairs and watched her car roll away from his window. He couldn't makeout her form, but as he imagined her humming and bobbing her head while focusing on the road, he smiled.

He gently touched his cheek where her lips were and lay on his bed, feeling better than he had in a long, long time. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

Okay so I do not have the creativity for amusement park names XD. This was a bit shorter more fluffy than usual, but I think it needed it. But, I should have another chapter out this week as I've been rereading old reviews and am really in the mood for some ANGST.

Anyways, review! It keeps me motivated and I love to hear your thoughts ;-p.

LOVE YOU ALL.