I met Rachel Dare before leaving to visit Dad for a couple weeks. Annabeth, Tyson, Grover, Juniper, Percy and I had left Camp for the day to attend Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis' marriage. Rachel was also invited. She was nice but my throat felt like I had swallowed something sour and I had no excuse as to why I felt that way. It was a small ceremony with Percy as best man, with a reception at the Jackson-Blofis apartment afterward. I was thrilled for Sally, especially since her last marriage had been to someone like Gabe for the sake of protecting Percy, and I told her as much. She crushed me in a hug. I imagined I would want a mom like her if I was not a demigod.

Annabeth was standing near the refreshment table. We watched Grover and Juniper dancing a wild jig.

"Something wrong?" She asked me, looking concerned.

"No," I lied. In truth there was something wrong. Percy was talking to Rachel. He seemed to be enjoying her company. I would never admit it, but I kind of liked Percy, and seeing him so happy with Rachel set me on end.

Annabeth continued looking at me. "There is something wrong. Tell me." I hesitated. But if I could not trust Annabeth, I could trust nobody.

"Promise not to tell anyone?" I asked. She nodded. I took a deep breath. "Rachel. I know she's nice and everything, but..."

"I know what you mean. Her and Seaweed Brain so happy together." I nodded. "Yeah, that sets me on end as much it does you. He's my best friend, next to you, and I really don't like him hanging out with mortals that much. But," she dropped her voice, "I know I'm no Aphrodite girl or anything, but I do think you have something on him."

"And what's that got to mean?" I demanded, though my face was growing hot.

"I think he makes puppy eyes at you."

"Shut up," I said, pushing her, though secretly hoped that might be true. At the sound of noise Percy looked back at us. Annabeth smiled to indicate everything was alright. "We need to stop our little pity party," I changed conversations and led her to where furniture had been moved to provide a dance floor. We danced with our friends and the others present.

The tune shifted to Howie Day's "You and I Collide" and Paul took Sally's hand. Couples began pairing up and gently swaying with the occasional spin. I was about to turn to Annabeth with a dorky smirk and ask if she wanted to dance when she raised an eyebrow. I turned and Percy was standing there, fiddling with his hands. "Um, do you want to….you know….dance maybe?" he scratched the back of his neck. A side glance to Annabeth suppressing a grin and I smiled back at him, said yes.

I settled my hands on his shoulders while Percy's hands softly clasped my hips. It was strange how gentle his touch could be when I knew the damage they could also inflict. "You look really pretty," he said. A black dress with sunflowers, a denim jacket, short heels. My hair was curled, something that rarely happened. But I liked it and his compliment made me consider dressing nice more often. "With everything happening lately I feel like we have been too busy to talk."

"We talk a ton."

"Yeah, but I wanted to tell you that I was really glad to see you back in New York. I missed you." A blush started creeping up my cheeks.

"I missed you, too. When you were blown out of that volcano I didn't think I would see you again. Then you were missing for two weeks. Do not ever do that again," I added forcefully. He laughed and promised not to. Then we quieted, listening to the music and breathing. Our muscles relaxed, limbs growing more comfortable. Percy even spun me. Good-hearted Annabeth was teaching Tyson how to dance. We watched the lesson with smiles. Glancing up I caught the light in Percy's eyes. He was happy. I accredited it to his mother's special day. Maybe there was something more but I did not know.